


ULawrence

by d_rose



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Bisexual Dean Winchester, F/M, Gay Castiel (Supernatural), Human Castiel, Human Gabriel (Supernatural), M/M, Stoner Castiel (Supernatural)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-12
Updated: 2019-07-10
Packaged: 2019-08-22 10:46:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 31
Words: 64,959
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16596395
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/d_rose/pseuds/d_rose
Summary: Roommates Dean Winchester and Gabriel Novak were ready for another wild year at University of Kansas Lawrence. Dean, however was not prepared to meet Gabriel's dorky little brother Castiel, a first year student who has recently developed an affinity for drugs, and whose promiscuity could give Dean a run for his money.Feat. 2014!CasThis story, similar to life in college, contains drug use and underage drinking.





	1. 1

# Sunday: Move in day. 09:46 AM

Dean’s mother Mary just left his dorm with tears in her eyes, telling him how proud she is of him. Dean ushered her out of his dorm, claiming he had work soon, but in reality he just didn’t want to see her cry again. She cried for the second time today as they loaded up the car with his belongings this morning. Dean hugged his mother and she rubbed his back, squeezing him just a little tighter before she let go and he kissed her cheek. She said a tearful goodbye before turning away to head back to her car. 

“Love you, mom!” Dean exclaimed and Mary turned around and blew him a kiss. When he was younger he would have never done that, he was afraid of showing affection, especially in public, but Dean’s first year in college taught him differently. His maturity was growing more and more each day he was off on his own, as many young adults do when they leave for school. Even Jo hugged her mother goodbye when they left for college, and she was a hell of a lot tougher than Dean would ever care to admit. After his mom disappeared from his sight he grinned to himself, excited to start another year of college. Especially if it was going to be anything like his first year. 

_Dean sat on the back steps of the porch at Alpha Sig with a red solo cup clutched in his hands and a cigarette hanging from the other. He used his wrist to wipe sweat off his forehead, the frat house was packed and he needed a minute of fresh air to cool down. A shorter, brown haired man emerged from a bush across the small yard. The short man was zipping up his pants, clearly just having taken a piss in the bushes. He sauntered towards Dean and asked for a light. Dean let his cigarette hang from his lips as he leaned back and patted his pockets until he found his lighter._

__

_“It’s unlucky, you know,” the short man said as he lit his cigarette._

__

__

_The man extended his hand with the lighter, “The lighter. White’s unlucky.”_

__

_Dean chuckled, “You actually believe that crap?”_

__

_The short man shook his head, exhaling smoke and laughed, “Some people do.”_

__

_“Huh,” Dean frowned slightly, examining the lighter in his hand. He hadn’t decided if he believed in bad luck, curses or fate. What did it matter to him, anyway?_

__

_“Gabriel,” the shorter man said, extending his hand._

__

_“Dean,” he hesitated and didn’t shake Gabriel’s hand, “That’s not the hand you just touched your junk with, right?”_

__

_Gabriel let out a sharp laugh and through his head back, not answering that question. “The line for the bathroom’s too long, girls go in there in gaggles.”_

__

_Dean laughed, “Yeah, wonder what they all do in there.”_

__

_“Cocaine.”_

__

_Deans head snapped up, “What?”_

__

_“Coke. There’s always powder left behind in the morning. Good pick me up.”_

__

_“You live here?”_

__

_“No, my brother does. I’m rushing soon. Legacy,” Gabriel said proudly._

__

_Suddenly they heard loud girlish laughter, “Wanna look for leftovers?” Gabriel grinned before tossing his cigarette in a cup that was discarded in the yard and clapping his hands together eagerly. Dean didn’t know why but he followed the guy inside._

Dean took the stairs up to his room, the elevator line was wrapping around to the front door. He took his time because there were many students trying to lug all their belongings up to their rooms, avoiding the elevator just like Dean. When he finally reached the sixth floor and made his way back to his room Gabriel was there and hanging up a poster of a scantily clad woman leaning over a classic car. 

“Good choice,” Dean said as he shut the door, Gabriel turning to face his roommate, grinning. 

“I knew you’d approve,” Gabriel sauntered over to his friend and pulled him into a hug, smacking his hand on Dean’s back.

“Wild summer?” Dean asked, throwing himself onto his bed that was still unmade and squirmed around on the uncomfortable university-issued plastic covering. 

Gabe whistled, “Dean-o, you should have been there. Next time I go to Miami, you’re coming.”

“I can’t afford that, man, I barely have enough tips to get my books.”

Gabriel stared at his friend with his signature I’m paying for you look that he always gave Dean. 

“That trust fund of yours is gonna go dry one of these days,” Dean said, hopping off his bed and tearing open a trash bag that contained his bedding. 

“We’re splitting Luke’s share.”

“Still M.I.A.?” Dean asked, putting the fitted sheet over the mattress while he heard his roommate rifling through his things.

“He’s dead to them as far as I’m concerned. Zach decided this summer. No calls, no post cards. Last time I saw Luke he was,” Gabriel paused, and Dean turned around to see him shutter.

Dean nodded, understanding. The entire time he’s known Gabe, his older brother Michael’s twin, Luke has been missing. Their uncle Zachariah threw him out almost two years ago when he found needles hidden in Luke’s room, having put up with his shit enough. Luke was always stealing, using, getting in more trouble than Zachariah could deal with. After he was thrown out, Gabriel was the only person who would keep in contact with Luke. But it’s been over a year since he last heard from him, and apparently was now dead to them.

The two continued unpacking in silence until there was a knock on their door. Dean was closest to the door so he answered it to reveal his friend Jo. 

“How’d you find us?” He opened the door to let her in.

“The RA put name tags on all the doors,” she said, rolling her eyes as if it were obvious. It was, but Dean wasn’t the most observant person in the world. “Really?” She asked, pointing to the poster Gabe hung up a few minutes ago. Gabriel opened the mini fridge he just stocked and pulled out three beers, passing them to his friends, still warm.

“Would you expect any less?” Gabriel asked as he cracked open the can.

“No, guess not.” Jo flopped onto Deans bed as if she lived there and took a long sip.

“Where’s your room?” Dean asked, chugging his beer before continuing to unpack clothes and stuffing them in the dresser.

“Four doors down,” Jo nodded her head to the right.

“So close, how’d we get so lucky?” Gabriel said in a phony affectionate voice.

“Bite me,” Jo tossed one of Deans pillows at the shorter man who cursed her for making him spill his beer.

“Hey, I just made that, so I’d appreciate it if you didn’t mess it up… Yet,” Dean winked at her and she rolled her eyes. 

“What d’ya think of your roommate?” Gabe asked, pulling his video camera out of his bag and fiddling around with it.

Jo shrugged, “Fine, I guess. Her name’s Bela.”

“Say hi!” Gabe exclaimed, holding his camera out to record his friends, who smiled and waved. He turned it around to face him, “We are unpacking our dorm, first day of second year. Jo just showed up for a booty call, so it’s time for me to go.”

Jo flipped off the camera before Gabriel got the chance to turn it off, their laughter the last thing the camera captured at the moment. 

Jo left after she finished her beer to finish unpacking her things, promising to grab them when she was heading to the dining hall for dinner. 

Gabe tossed Dean another drink and used his dorm key to punch a hole near the bottom of the can. Dean did the same with his pocket knife.

“To another year we won’t remember!” Gabe announced, and Dean nodded his head before the two cracked open the lid and chugged.

By the time Jo knocked on the door to 610 Dean and Gabe had already consumed most of a 12 pack. Dean grinned at her as he opened the door, noticing she had changed out of her knee length athletic shorts into a pair of dark jeans that hung dangerously low on her hips and a white tank top. She noticed him checking her out, rolled her eyes and put her backpack down on the floor with a clank. 

“Bring me a gift?” Dean motioned to the bag and Jo just unzipped it. She pulled a pint of spiced rum out and shoved it to Deans chest. “Thank you,” he clutched it as if it was his prized possession.

“Where’s mine?” Gabe frowned as he grabbed his wallet off his desk and stuffed it into his back pocket of his jeans. 

“Oh right,” Jo rummaged through her bag before turning around and giving Gabriel the finger. 

He feigned offense and Dean stood impatiently by the door. “So are we gonna eat or what?”

“Yes, we’re going to eat, relax.”

“I’ll meet you guys there,” Gabriel said as he closed the door behind them. “Told Cassie I’d show him around. Save us seats.”

“Who?” Jo asked, pressing the elevator down button.

“Little bro. Promised him I’d show him around, show him where to eat. Bring him to the party tonight,” Gabriel grinned and the elevator dinged. They paused and let off the group of girls before they entered the lift.

“You mean your dorky little brother?” Dean asked.

“He’s not that bad, I swear. He’s actually become quite the stoner,” Gabe sounded like a proud parent.

“You’re a bad influence,” Jo laughed.

“Hopefully. Hey save us seats!” Gabriel called as he headed the other direction towards one of the freshmen dorms. 

After Jo joined Dean at an empty table in the dining hall he had already devoured almost all of the cheeseburger he got. The two sat in silence while they ate until they heard a familiar loud voice booming from the other side of the room where the shitty buffet-style food was served. By the time Gabriel moseyed his way over to their table Dean had finished his burger, fries and was working on an ice cream cone. Gabe sat down across from Jo and Dean at the circular table, with a taller, dark haired young man behind him. 

“What took ya so long?” Dean asked, licking his fingers before looking up to meet a pair of bright blue bloodshot eyes, the lids halfway closed. He was smiling a gorgeous half grin at Dean, he couldn’t help but noticed how bright and cheery his smile was. “What? We don’t get an invite to the hotbox?”

“Maybe next time,” the dark haired boy smiled.

“Guys, this is Castiel,” Gabe motioned to his brother as he took a seat next to his brother.

“Dean,” Dean said, slurping dripping ice cream off the cone. “Jo,” he said because her mouth was full and she smiled with her cheeks puffed out.

“Hello,” Castiel said, nodding his head to Dean and Jo before tentatively taking a bite of his pizza. 

“Pizza here sucks,” Dean said, stuffing the cone into his mouth.

“Dean thinks he’s a food critic because he works at Campus Pizza down the street,” Gabe rolled his eyes and took a sip from his soda.

“It’s not bad,” Castiel said after chewing for a minute as if he was analyzing the pizza. He wiped a spot of sauce off the stubble on his chin and Dean froze, staring as he licked the sauce off his finger lazily. Castiel noticed Dean staring and took another bite, licking his lips.

“Wait ‘til you try my pizza, you’ll never eat that crap again,” Dean broke his gaze and his eyes darted to his hands, wiping them together excitedly.

“You’re pizza? You’re a cashier,” Jo retorted. 

“I’m proud of it, it’s the best pizza in Lawrence!”

“So, Castiel, what do you think so far? Of the school I mean,” Jo asked, trying to get off the topic of pizza, knowing Dean could spend hours talking about food.

“It isn’t bad. I just unpacked my room and met a few people on my floor.”

“What dorm you in?”

“Roy.”

“That’s where I lived last year!” Jo exclaimed. “It seems really shitty at first but you’ll grow to love it. The heat isn’t great so make sure you bring a lot of blankets after winter break.”

“Thank you, Jo. I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Your roommate seems weird,” Gabe said, pointing his fork at his brother.

“He’s nice enough.”

“Weird, though.”

“I met a guy down the hall, Garth. We both share interests in ancient mythology.”

Yup, Castiel was definitely one of those Earthy-crunchy-hippies, Dean thought, as if the sandals the guy was wearing didn’t already give that away. 

“So you comin’ with us tonight?” Dean asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

“I don’t think I have a say in the matter,” Castiel replied before tossing his crust on his plate, too dry for his liking.

“True that,” Gabriel laughed.

The four left the dining hall together and went back to Dean and Gabriel’s room to start drinking before the left for the frat house. “Will Michael be there?” Castiel asked, shaking his head, refusing a beer from his brother. Castiel was focused on rolling a few joints; one already stuffed in his pocket; and licked the wrap before rolling the paper. 

Gabe shrugged and tossed the can he offered to his brother to Jo, who cracked it open and downed it in one go. “Yeah, he lives there.”

Castiel mumbled something under his breath, causing his brother to shoot him a look and Castiel’s jaw stiffened. Dean and Jo looked at each other, puzzled, but ignored it. 

The three finished off the rest of the beer in the fridge and left Dean’s bottle of rum alone, knowing the fraternity always had a fully stocked house. They decided after they finished the beers that they were sufficiently buzzed enough to head to the party a couple blocks off campus. It was late August, and Dean was feeling warm from the booze so he left behind his signature leather jacket. 

Dean saluted their RA, Chuck, as they walked past him on their way to the elevator. He saluted Dean back and lowered his glazed-over gaze, adjusting his backpack over his shoulder. Gabriel smirked, he supplied liquor for Chuck, very, very often. Chuck went through a couple bottles a week, whatever he could get his hands on. 

“We are so lucky to have him for our RA,” Gabe whistled, drawing out the ‘so’. 

“Yeah, if you all alcoholism lucky,” Jo snorted.

“I think what he means is he’s not gonna bust us.”

“Yeah, if we go down, he’s goin’ down with us.”

“Is that all you do for fun?” Castiel asked, looking quizzically at his brother and his friends.

“No, we get high sometimes,” Gabe grinned and Castiel rolled his eyes, but huffed out a laugh.

“The most fun is pickin’ on Gabe,” Dean said, laughing, which earned him a punch in the shoulder from his roommate and a smile from Castiel.

The four walked down a sidewalk on their way to the party, as soon as they reached the outskirts of campus Castiel pulled a joint out of his pocket and lit it before taking a deep drag. He passed it to his brother when they walked past the pizza shop Dean worked at. “It tastes even better late at night,” he said. Dean received a chorus of ‘shut up’ and a playful shove from his friends. 

“How far is Michael’s house?” Castiel asked, rubbing his bare arms that were prickled with goosebumps. He was the only one without alcohol to keep him warm, so he took another drag and let the smoke in his lungs begin to warm him.

“Couple blocks, not far.”

They could hear the music before they could see the house. Castiel felt bad for the people who lived in the houses nearby, it was a Sunday night and the music could be heard down the street. Then he figured since Lawrence was such a big college town that the inhabitants of the nearby houses were more than likely other college students. 

Gabe grinned, turning back to his friends as they crossed off the sidewalk across the yard of the house. “You ready, Cassie?”

“Please don’t call me that.”

“Let’s go!” Dean clapped a hand on Castiel’s shoulder, leading him into the house. 

Gabe disappeared after his friends paid the cover fee to enter the frat house. This came to no surprise to Dean; he was most likely going to find the keg. A girl standing near the door called Jo’s name and waved her over, leaving Dean and Castiel standing by the door. 

“Let’s go find Gabe, he’ll lead us to the beer,” Dean leaned in and shouted to Castiel, who just nodded in response.

Dean waved and nodded to a few people in the crowd as they squeezed their way to the kitchen where empty cups and cans littered the counter top. He spotted Gabe over in the corner by the keg, already sipping on a cup. He pointed to Castiel where he was and the two made their way over to Gabriel and the beer. 

“Hey, Mike,” Dean said as the oldest Novak brother turned around. Michael took a sip from his cup and patted Dean on the back, greeting him. 

“Hello, Michael,” Castiel said dryly.

“You got Cassie out to a party?” Michael asked, smacking his shortest brother in the arm, who was grinning behind a cup. Now that Dean saw Mike and Castiel standing next to each other he could see the familial resemblance much more than he could between Gabe and Mike. Castiel just stared at his brother and didn’t respond, clearly he was used to being teased by his older brothers. “You want a beer, baby bro?”

“I’m fine.”

“How ‘bout you, Dean?” Michael was already pouring a cup for Dean, knowing the answer before he even asked the question.

“Absolutely,” Dean grinned as Mike passed him the cup.

“He’s a good example for you, Cassie, a real man,” Michael purposely smacked his hand onto Castiel’s shoulder harder than he did with Gabriel. Castiels fists clenched and his face visibly pinched up and his eldest brother walked away, sipping his beer.

“So you don’t drink?” Dean asked.

“I had a sip of my aunts wine once, and I enjoyed the taste of that. But no I am not a big drinker. I have yet to find something I enjoy.”

“Wine?” Dean’s face scrunched up like he was disgusted. “We’ll find something you like.”

Castiel smiled and stuck by Dean’s side as he maneuvered the crowded house, unsure where his brother took off to and not knowing anyone else. After Dean got himself another beer, Castiel asked where Gabriel was and Dean shrugged, unsure. Castiel looked uncomfortable so Dean offered, “Wanna go outside for a bit?”

Castiel nodded eagerly before following Dean out the back door onto a small porch. “Thank you, Dean.” He sat down on a step and ran his hands through his messy black hair, Dean couldn’t help but notice he made his hair look even more messy. Castiel’s hair was naturally messy and uncontrollable so he tended to just let it be and not fuss over fixing it. Castiel pulled the other joint he had rolled out of his pocket and brought it to his lips while he dug around his pockets for his lighter. 

“You want a hit?” Castiel asked Dean, holding it out to him and licked his lips. Dean stared at his tongue drag across his plump lower lip, and how wet with saliva it was. He couldn’t help but also lick his before downing the rest of his beer and shook his head no. Castiel shrugged and brought the joint back to his lips, Deans eyes remaining on the other mans lips. Thankfully Dean was distracted from staring at Castiel’s lips when Jo shouted, “Hey!” She stumbled over the small step down from the doorway to the porch, “There you guys are, I’ve been looking for you.”

“You were busy with those sorority chicks,” Dean said sarcastically and Jo snorted, making a twisted face.

“They’re awful! You drunkenly chat with someone one time and suddenly they’re your best friend!”

Castiel laughed loudly, throwing his head back with his eyes almost entirely shut. 

“Please keep me away from them,” Jo said, latching onto Dean’s arm.

“You can hide out here with Cas, I’m going to get another beer.”

Castiel raised an eyebrow at the nickname Dean gave him, but didn’t say anything. 

“Bring me one!” Jo called at Dean before he disappeared into the crowd. “Cas?” She asked, turning to Castiel. 

“It’s a shortened version of my name.”

“No shit.”

When Dean returned with two beers he announced that he found Gabe and ushered his friends inside. He led them back to the kitchen, where Gabriel was on top of the keg, with two frat brothers holding his legs in the air and another one holding the tap to his mouth. Dean looked impressed and Castiel looked, well, stoned. Jo shook her head, “If he pukes later I’m not cleaning it up,” she poked Dean in the shoulder. 

“Does he do that often?” Castiel asked, curious.

“Sometimes. Last time he puked all over the place.”Castiel cringed and Dean added, “Well he had drank tequila before.”

When Gabriel was lowered from the keg he belched loudly and high fived a few of the frat brothers before the next one hopped up. “Wanna try, Cassie?” He asked, putting his arm around his brother and accidentally pushed into him from swaying.

“No, thank you Gabriel.”

“Suit yourself, but you’ll do one by the end of the year,” Gabriel hiccupped and slurred. “We’ll get my baby brother drunk.” He pushed off his brother’s shoulder when he heard one of the frat brother’s call his name to play a game of beer pong that was being set up on the kitchen table. He was the defending champion from the spring and had to play against some of the freshmen who were looking to rush. 

While Gabriel played, Dean, Jo, and Castiel hung back and watched. Jo was chatting with a girl from her old dorm and Dean and Castiel stood inches apart, shouting at each other over the music. Dean locked eyes with Gabriel when he looked up and noticed Gabe’s stare. He brushed it off, assuming he was closely watching his younger brother since this was his first college party. Castiel laughed at something Dean said. He laughed his big, hearty laugh, where he threw his head back and grinned up at Dean, his blue eyes shining with his smile. Dean felt himself enamored by Castiel’s big, bright blue eyes and couldn’t stop staring into them as the younger man spoke. He continued to feel the hair raise on the back of his neck, knowing he was being watched when it wasn’t Gabe’s turn. 

Dean and Jo matched each other in how many beers they had, but still ended up less drunk than Gabriel. “Staying the night?” Dean whispered into Jo’s ear, one hand firmly planted on her hip. Jo’s smirk matched Dean’s.

After Gabriel finished his game and chugged another beer Dean told him that he and Jo were going back to the room. Gabriel nodded, understanding. “Cassie, I’ll walk you back,” he put a hand on his brothers shoulder and the two followed Dean and Jo out the door.

Eventually the group parted so Gabriel and Castiel could go back to the freshman's dorm. “Are you going to be okay walking by yourself? You don’t need to walk me back, I think I can find my way,” Castiel asked when his brother tripped over a branch on the sidewalk.

“’M fine,” Gabriel waved off his brother and continued in the direction of the freshman dorms. He told his brother short stories about his freshman year as they walked back to Castiel’s building. “Dean puked on the steps of Smith Hall,” Gabriel pointed to one of the larger academic buildings. “That’s the dorm I lived in,” he pointed to the tower building. 

“Are you coming up?” Castiel asked as he pushed open the front door to his dorm.  
“Yeah, I gotta piss,” the two waited for the elevator despite Castiel living on the second floor, he figured Gabriel might have a hard time with the stairs. Castiel waited for his brother in the hallway while he used the bathroom, expecting him to leave after he finished. “Got any food? Dining hall’s closed.”  
Castiel sighed and led him down the hall to his room. “I think my roommate is sleeping,” he said quietly outside his room and pulled out his key. Gabriel nodded and pushed himself into the room after his brother and carefully closed the door. Castiel rummaged through a drawer in his desk while his brother flopped onto the bed, making it creak loudly, earning a glare as Castiel produced a bag of chips. The younger man shrugged, and Castiel realized he hadn’t woken up his roommate.

“Want some?” Gabe whispered, holding out the bag to his brother, who hadn’t realized how badly he had the munchies until now.  
Castiel sat next to his brother on his bed and they took turns passing the bag to each other. “So you have fun?” Gabriel asked, licking salt off his fingers.

“Yes, I had a good time.”

“I’ only gets better,” Gabe grinned, earning a smile from his younger brother. “Come by for lunch tomorrow,” he said after his brother yawned.

Castiel nodded as his older brother stood up, swaying, “But not too early.”

Gabriel grinned and pointed his index finger at him as he headed for the door to go back to his own dorm.


	2. 2

In the morning Gabriel woke with his head pounding and his left leg hanging off the bed. He sat up and reached for a water bottle sitting on his dresser against the wall, adjacent to his bed. He chugged almost the entire bottle before pulling away, breathing heavily. Gabe wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and saw Dean and Jo still sound asleep and Dean’s bare back facing Gabe’s side of the room. He immediately laid his head back down and rolled over to attempt to sleep off this hangover.

Dean started to stir when Jo shook him, “Dean.” He mumbled and buried his head into his pillow more. “Dean,” she shook him harder, needing to pee but unable to move because Dean’s arms were wrapped around her. “Move,” she urged, pushing on his shoulder harder, but he didn’t move. Jo punched Dean in the shoulder as hard as she could manage with his boa constrictor grip, he jumped and groaned, releasing his grip to grab onto his shoulder. 

“What the fuck?” He grunted, rolling away from Jo, and she managed to crawl over him. Dean sat up in bed, the sheet slipping down, barely covering him. Jo grabbed a random shirt off the floor and her jeans before she flicked the deadbolt on their door so the door wouldn't shut behind her and hurried down the hall to the bathroom.

“What,” Gabe grunted, drawing out the ‘a’ and pushed his palms into his eyes. 

“She punched me,” Dean whined, causing Gabe to laugh as he rolled onto his side to face Dean, then stuck his arms out in front of him.

“Dude! Your junk!”

“I’ve seen your junk more times than I’d like to admit,” Dean retorted, tugging the sheet over his stomach before bending over to grab his boxers off the floor.

Gabriel laughed and asked Dean the time, realizing he hadn’t unpacked his alarm clock. Dean got up and picked his wristwatch off his desk, “10:42.”

“Missed breakfast, dammit I wanted French toast,” Gabe cursed as Jo entered the room and shut the door behind her.

“French toast?” She asked, curling up on Deans bed.

“We missed breakfast,” Dean said, yawning and scratching at his back.

“Lunch starts in 45 minutes, I think you’ll live,” she snorted, leaning back on the wall.

“Cassie’s coming to lunch with us,” Gabe said as he got out of bed, stretching. 

“Wake me up when he gets here,” Dean laid back on his bed with his head on Jo’s lap and she immediately shimmied out from under him.

“I’m going to shower, come get me when you go to lunch,” she said before picking up her bra off the floor and shoving it into her backpack.

“See ya!” Gabe shouted at the same time Dean said “Bye!”. 

Gabriel must have fallen back to sleep because he was startled to hear a loud knock on his door, and by the time he opened his eyes Dean was halfway to the door. “Hey, Cas,” Dean said, swinging the door open and letting Castiel in behind him.

“Cas?” Gabe asked with a raised eyebrow, swinging his legs over the edge of his bed.

“Yeah, easier than Castiel, don’t cha think?” Dean said, grabbing his jeans off the floor and pulling them on, feeling suddenly very exposed in front of Castiel in just his boxers. Dean wasn’t a shy person, he knew he looked damn good, but felt uncomfortable being practically naked in front of his best friend’s brother. Who also happened to eye-fuck Dean all throughout dinner. Dean ran a hand through his messy brown hair, picking through his sheets to find his shirt and ended up finding Jo’s white tank top. “God dammit,” Dean mumbled to himself, tossing the tank top over his desk chair. 

“Glad to see you made it home safely,” Castiel said, turning his attention to Gabriel to give Dean a bit of privacy while he dressed. 

“Told ya I’d make it,” Gabe said proudly as he rummaged in his dresser for clean clothes.

“I- uh, I’ll go grab Jo,” Dean stammered after he shoved on his boots, when he stood up his green eyes met Castiel’s for a moment, looking as joyful as they did last night, with almost a twinkle to them. He rushed out the door with it slamming loudly behind him.  
Dean realized after the door shut he forgot to grab his key, and he also didn’t know which room was Jo’s. Luckily their other RA had put name tags on each door, Dean chuckled, imagining Chuck taking the time to make these tags, but then figured it was more likely they had two RA’s. On the guys doors the nametags were coffee cups and the ladies doors had dainty tea cups. He came to a door that had one teacup labeled Bela, the other must have been ripped off because there was streaks of tape leftover on the door. That door had to be Jo’s so Dean pounded on it and in a second a tall blonde woman answered the door.

“What?” The woman asked, she had a British accent.

“Is this Jo’s room?” Dean asked, his eyes wandering up and down the tall blonde in front of him.

“You must be Dean,” she opened the door further and stepped out of the doorway.

“Bela, right?”

“Hey, Dean,” Jo called, pulling her hair into a ponytail. “Ready to go?”

“Yeah, I’m starving.”

“Nice to meet you, Dean,” Bela said, offering a small wave as the pair left the room.

“You too!” He called as the door shut behind them.

“Not what I was expecting,” Dean said, glancing back the Jo’s door. “Do you have afternoon tea together?” He asked in a fake British accent. 

Jo rolled her eyes, “She’s alright, really into art.”

“She single?” Dean smirked before pounding his fist on his door. “Let’s go!”

The four made it to the dining hall before it was even open for lunch and had to wait at the entrance behind another eager group. When the kitchen staff finally opened the doors Dean made a beeline for the grilling station, his growling stomach patiently waiting for a cheeseburger. Castiel appeared next to him and lightly drummed his fingers on his plate. “Nothing cures a hangover like a burger, eh Cas?” Dean asked.

“I wouldn’t know, but it certainly cures the munchies,” Castiel’s nose wrinkled slightly, smelling a hint of bacon as the grill warmed. 

Dean licked his lips and looked around impatiently for the cook who walked away after he started up the grill. He glanced over at Castiel, who was staring pointedly at the grill, Dean’s eyes worked their way around Castiel’s face. Dean noticed how his eyes reminded him of the crystal clear water of the lake his dad took him and Sammy to the summer before Dean started middle school. Castiel’s lips pursed together and he tapped his finger on the metal grate his plate rested on before his head tilted and his gaze fell on Dean. 

“What? Is there something on my face?” Castiel asked insecurely, flushing pink and brushing his hands around his face.

“Huh? No, you’re good,” Dean said before clearing his throat and turning back towards the grill. “Where the hell did the cook go?” He made a point to not stare at Castiel and furrowed his brow.

#### 04:17PM

“If you don’t think there are aliens, you’re out of your mind,” Gabriel said after inhaling from a joint.

“I didn’t say I don’t think they’re there, I’m just saying there would be more hard evidence if they’ve visited us,” Castiel said defensively, reaching out to take a drag from the joint as Gabriel exhaled and coughed loudly. 

“There is man! You’re ignoring all the facts!”

“Will you two shut the fuck up about aliens?” Jo exclaimed, rubbing her temples before standing up and carefully taking the joint out of Castiel’s fingers. After she took the last hit off it she shoved it into an empty beer can and kicked the towel out from under the door. Jo waved before the door shut behind her.

Now that Dean’s bed was unoccupied he stretched his legs and folded his arms behind his head. The guys sat in silence for a few more minutes save for the sound of Gabriel accidentally knocking their fan out of the window when he turned it around.

“I should get to the bookstore before they close,” Castiel said, glancing at his watch before standing up and stretching, exposing a small bit of skin below his belly button.

Dean’s eyes followed downward as Castiel’s shirt was lifted up, noticing the dark trail of hair, his eyes couldn’t help but wander a little bit down before he realized he was staring at his best friend’s little brother’s crotch. When Dean’s eyes lifted he noticed Castiel staring at him, and he immediately looked to Gabe who hadn’t noticed any of this as his cheeks started to burn. Castiel did not seem phased by his gaze and slowly smoothed out his shirt.

After Castiel left, Gabriel began rummaging around in his duffle bag, throwing clothes onto the floor. Dean was staring off into space when he said, “Dude, your brother looks nothing like you and Mike, are you adopted?”

Gabriel snorted and gathered the strewn clothes in his arms, “Nah, I look more Luke. Anna looks like the adopted one.”

“Wait, which one is Anna again?”

“She’s our cousin. Zach’s pride and joy,” he snorted. “She’s your age, pretty close with Cassy.”

Dean only nodded, even though Gabriel had his back turned and couldn’t see his response. A few minutes later he said, “Cas is a bit odd.”

Gabriel said, “He’s really taken to you, go easy on him.”

“No, I just mean he’s a bit weird is all.”

“Dean, please just be nice to him,” Gabe sighed.

“What, I’m not nice?” Dean asked, slightly offended.

Gabriel turned around to face his roommate and gave Dean a look with one eyebrow raised, knowing that Dean wasn’t always the most friendly guy.

“He hard a pretty hard time in high school, bullies ya know,” Gabriel said, “He’s trying to have a fresh start.”

“Didn’t we all come here for a fresh start?”

“He’s always been a bit different, he knows that.” Gabriel paused, “He’s just trying to figure out who he is. He needs to do that away from Zach. Just be nice to him or I’ll kick your ass, Dean-o.”

Dean laughed, “I’m nice!” He was interrupted by a sharp knock on the door.

“What?” Gabriel shouted, annoyed that he is seemingly unable to finish unpacking his things without interruption.

“Floor meeting!” They heard muffled from the other side of the door. Gabriel rolled his eyes and continued rifling through his things.

Dean pulled out Cat’s Cradle from his desk to continue where he left off weeks ago. Part of Dean had wished he was sitting on his favorite chair out on the back porch reading peacefully without the sounds of Gabe talking to himself. He may have preferred reading outside on this cool late summer evening, but Dean was ecstatic to be back at school with his friends, excited to really start getting into the meat of architecture courses. He had to look up when Gabe cackled loudly, holding a hot pink thong. 

“Why did you pack that?” Dean winced, slightly horrified, almost positive it was worn.

“Used this suitcase in Miami,” Gabe winked at his friend, holding the thong up, ready to slingshot it across the room.

“Don’t you dare! I don’t know where that’s been and I don’t want to know!” Dean threw his book down, ready to get up and defend himself in case he needed to when they were interrupted by a sharp knock again.

“Come on guys, just come to the damn meeting. Won’t take more than half an hour!” Chuck shouted from outside their door.

Gabriel groaned loudly as he made his way to the door and opened it to reveal Chuck standing with his arms crossed over his chest. 

“I could have stopped by to visit when you guys were toking up earlier, just do me this solid,” Chuck said impatiently. 

“Gonna yell at us? Make it seem like you’re tough? Scare the residents?” Dean smirked, clapping Chuck in the back before following him out to the common area by the elevators.

Gabe put on a pouty face as they appeared in front of the others on their floor, muttering, “Sorry Chuck.” Dean smirked when he noticed a wide-eyed girl sitting on the floor staring at the two late comers before turning her undivided attention to Chuck. He elbowed Gabe gently, nodding to the wide-eyed girl. 

“Dibs,” Gabe said, covering with a cough, making Dean snort and muffle a laugh.

“Hey! You come to the meeting late, then you talk over me? You guys wanna run this meeting?” Chuck shouted at the two.

“Nope, sorry,” Dean said in a faux scared voice.

“Where was I? Oh yeah, let’s go over basic rules. You guys aren’t freshman, you’ve done this before, you know what to do and what to not do. Don’t be stupid. No alcohol, no drugs, smoke outside, don’t be an ass to your roommate. I’m here to help you, I’m not your enemy. If you have a problem you can come to me. Any questions?” There other residents were quiet before Chuck announced they were supposed to do ‘team building’ exercises, however he hates them and they will not be doing them. When the meeting ended and people started filing away Chuck shouted, “Mr. Novak, Mr. Winchester, a word?” A few students made “Oh, you’re in trouble,” comments to the two and some chuckled. 

Dean and Gabriel made their way through the thinning crowd to where Chuck was standing. Chuck turned towards his room and opened the door for the two to enter. He closed the door loudly and rubbed his hands together, “How was that? Did I scare them?”


	3. 3

#### 8:56AM 

Dean dropped his backpack next to his feet and settled into a desk in his architecture design class. When professor Jody Mills walked in Dean sat up a little straighter, knowing she would tell his father if he’s slacking off in class. She smiled at Dean before saying hello to a couple girls walking in the door. Despite knowing professor Mills for almost his entire life, Dean felt fairly anxious being in her class, knowing he needed to work harder than other students to earn her respect as an academic. 

Classes the first week of the semester were always boring, professor Mills let them out a few minutes early after going over the syllabus and her expectations, instructing the students to read the first chapter before their next meeting. Dean arrived to his history class early and got a head start on his architecture assignment until the class began. 

After class ended and Dean started to pack his notebook back into his backpack he noticed a tan trench coat walking down the steps in the lecture hall, so he shouted, “Hey! Cas!” 

Castiel trotted down the stairs, “Hello Dean,” he said a few stairs from the bottom.

“How’s classes?” Dean adjusted the strap on his backpack as they started out the door behind the herd of other students eager to exit the lecture hall. 

“I’m enjoying them so far. My next class is drawing, I’m looking forward to it.”

“You can draw?” Dean asked as the stepped out into the warm September air.

“Not very well, but I’m hoping this class will change that. If I can find the building,” Castiel mumbled, reaching around to his backpack to pull out a map from his front pocket.

“Woah, woah, woah, put that away,” Dean said, snatching the map from Castiel’s hand.

“Hey, what are you-“

“Just trust me, Cas, you don’t want to be seen with that. You’ll stick out like a sore thumb,” Dean crumpled up the map. 

“How will I find my classes?”

“Stick with me, I’ll help you around. So where is your drawing class, Myer?”

“Myer Center for the Arts,” Castiel said, reading his folded up class schedule.

“North campus, I’ll show you there. Have you been to north campus yet?”

“No, but I remember it from the campus tour.”

“It’s pretty isolated, there’s really only the art building, a dining hall and a few dorms. Architecture is based in Myer so I pretty much live there.”

“Won’t you be late to class trekking all the way there, then?” Castiel asked, following close to Dean so he didn’t get lost in the busy central campus.

“No, I have a break until two, I don’t mind,” Dean waved at a dark haired girl who called his name. “Do you have class after drawing?” 

“No.”

“Wanna grab lunch?” Dean asked, turning right onto the sidewalk and heading towards the north campus.

“That would be nice,” Castiel’s stomach was already beginning to rumble.

“I’ll meet you outside Myer when your class is over, we can go to North Commons. Food’s not as great as the main hall but it’s still edible. They do late night breakfast on the weekends.”

Castiel nodded in agreement.

“Alright, I’ll see you at 1:30 then,” Dean said as they stopped on the quad.

“See you then,” Castiel said before heading towards the large, modern arts building.  
Dean lingered a moment, looking down at his feet and fidgeting with his backpack. Cas turned his head around as he opened the door and glanced over at Dean, noticing that he was still standing there and smiled softly to himself before walking straight into someone. Castiel shook his head, blushing, and apologized to the guy he walked into.

After Dean’s last class of the day he tossed his backpack onto his dorm floor with a thud, causing Gabe to look up from his desk. “Hi, honey, how was class?” Gabriel asked sarcastically.

“Syllabi on top of syllabi,” Dean sighed as he kicked off his shoes. “Yours?”

“Same here,” Gabriel closed his Intro to Geology textbook, “And I already know this class is going to suck.”

“Had lunch with Cas today, he’s actually a pretty cool dude,” he said, ignoring his roommate’s complaint.

“You think my little brother is _cool_?” Gabriel asked before adding, “I guess he’s cool for a dork.”

“Yeah, I mean he’s a huge dork and all, but,” Dean grabbed the open bag of chips sitting on his roommates desk. “He’s cool, cracks me up,” he said as he crammed his mouth with potato chips.

“You think my little bro is funny?” Gabriel howled.

“He’s sarcastic as hell,” Dean mumbled through a mouthful of chips. “You’re just jealous because Cas is smart and funny and cool,” he said as he wiped his salty hands on his jeans and pushed off the desk.

Gabriel grabbed his pencil and tossed it at Dean, hitting him in the back of the head. “Don’t hang out with him too much, you’ll corrupt him.”

“And he won’t be corrupted from hanging out with you?” Dean rubbed the back of his head where the pointed end of the pencil hit him.

“I’m his big bro, it’s my job. Don’t take away the best part of being a brother! This is my only chance to corrupt the youth!” Gabriel paused, “I’ll corrupt Sammy when he comes to visit!”

“You will do no such thing! Sammy’s a good kid.”

“I bet you were at some point too, Dean-o.”

“Fuck off.”

Thursday morning Dean was early to his architecture class, the line at the campus coffee shop was much quieter than it typically was in the mornings. He sat in the front row paying more attention to his coffee than his surroundings when he heard a gruff voice say, “This seat taken?”

Dean looked up, surprised to see the classroom had mostly filled up, and met eyes with an older guy with a full dark beard. “All yours,” Dean said, sliding his backpack closer to him so there was more leg room. Dean tried not to check out this older guy but Dean apparently had a weakness for blue eyed men. Dean then rubbed his temple, knowing the only other blue eyed guy he had been checking out is Cas. His mind started to race, beginning to think about how the other day Castiel was so distracted watching Dean that he walked into someone. 

His thoughts were thankfully interrupted by hearing, “Benny,” from the older guy once he settled into his seat and pulled out a notebook.

“Dean.”

Benny smiled at Dean and turned away as soon as Professor Mills walked into the room, greeting the class. Dean gently shook his head to himself and blinked a few times, attempting to shake the thoughts of blue eyed men out of his head.

####  9:17PM

As Dean was closing the register at work he heard a knock on the window. He looked up and saw Jo waving furiously at him on the other side of the glass pane. Dean held up his hand, extending all five fingers to signal five more minutes, Jo gave him a thumbs up and leaned up against the brick building.

When he finished closing out the register Dean unlocked the door and waved Jo inside. She set her grey backpack on the freshly cleaned counter. “Ready to toga?” She asked excitedly, knowing every year during rush Gabe’s frat held a toga party. Last year Jo and Dean hadn’t met Gabe in time to attend and they were looking forward to participating in this tradition. Jo pulled out a sheet and handed it to Dean before he disappeared into the men’s room to change out of his Campus Pizza T-shirt and jeans. He wrapped himself up in the sheet and attempted to tie it securely around his chest, but every try it just fell down. 

“How do you tie this fuckin’ thing?” Dean asked after exiting the restroom. 

“Hang on!” Came a muffled shout from the women’s room.

Jo emerged from the bathroom with a, “Move,” and pushed Dean out of the way to rummage through her bag. She pulled out a small cosmetic bag, which earned a raised eyebrow from Dean, she then produced a baggie of safety pins and told Dean to hold still.

“Hey Jo! Dean-o!” Gabriel shouted over the thumping music at his frat house, trying to get his friends attention, holding his beer high above his head. “Glad you made it!”

“Wouldn’t miss a toga!” Dean shouted as they approached their friend before following him towards the keg set up in the kitchen.

Gabriel poured Jo and Dean drinks before Dean asked, “Where’s Cas?”

At that moment Michael appeared beside Dean and threw his arm around his shouted and laughed. “He didn’t want to come. Shocking, I know.”

“He has class at eight tomorrow,” Gabe interjected. “He wanted to come.”

“Sure he did,” Michael said. “Party’s better without him anyway,” he shrugged. Dean squirmed out from under Michael’s arm, uncomfortable and no happy with the way Michael was talking about his brother.

“Gabe, let’s go sign up for the tournament,” Dean said after chugging the rest of his beer, partly to get away from Michael and also wanting a distraction from wishing Cas was there.

Dean and Gabriel ended up losing their game pretty bad, and they downed the rest of their drinks before Gabe angrily smashed his cup to the ground. Dean got himself and Gabe new beers before joining Jo in the crowd.

“Jeez, what happened?” She asked. “You guys sucked.”

“Whatever,” Dean mumbled before chugging yet another drink.

“What’s up with you? You’ve had like four beers and we’ve been here an hour.”

“We’re at a party,” Dean shrugged. 

“So let’s party,” Jo smirked, downing the rest of her drink and demanded Dean get her another one. “I’ve gotta catch up,” she winked.

On their way back from the frat house Gabriel and Dean were holding each other up, or at least attempting to. Gabe’s arm was loosely slung around Dean’s shoulders, and Dean’s around Gabe’s. Gabriel tripped over the curb as they turned towards campus. Both boys went down on the ground in a heap of laughter. Jo groaned and stood there impatiently while the boys sat on the cold cement for a minute laughing. 

“Holy shit!” Gabe shouted, pointing across the street. “Do you see that?”

“See what?” Jo asked, looking around, not seeing anything out of the ordinary.

“The van! It’s badass!” Jo followed Gabe’s pointed finger and saw a dark blue van sitting against the opposite curb.

“It’s fucking lame!” Dean laughed, pushing himself off the ground. Jo laughed out loud when she got a better look at the van that had Gabe in stitches. It had a polar bear with a warrior woman riding it and another bear to the left. 

“It’s so badass! Wish I had my camera!”


	4. 4

“Hello Dean,” Castiel greeted after Dean opened his door to let Castiel in. Castiel blushed when he noticed Dean was only wearing boxers and a T-shirt.

“Hey Cas,” Dean said, rubbing his eyes and padding back to his bed to pull on a pair of jeans.

“Did I wake you?”

“Actually, yeah. Late night.”

“I’m so-“ Castiel was about to apologize but Dean interrupted.

“Don’t worry about it, shouldn’t sleep all day. Work in an hour anyway,” Dean yawned.

“Well lunch might be a good start,” Castiel said. “Gabriel isn’t here?”

“No, he’s in class. We can get lunch though,” Dean said before rummaging around in a drawer for socks.

On their way to lunch Castiel asked Dean what he thinks of his RA. Dean laughed, “Chuck? We’re lucky to have him. What about you?”

“She’s awful!”

Dean laughed, “Who is it?”

“Meg. I don’t know her last name. I think she’s a sophomore.”

Dean shrugged, holding the dining hall door open for Cas. “Don’t know her. She a drill sergeant about the rules?”

“No, she’s weird. She called me Clarence! She knows my name, but she insists on calling me Clarence," Castiel said, annoyed.

“Relax, Cas, she’s probably into you.”

“That doesn’t make any sense. If she liked me wouldn’t she be nice to me?”

“Not necessarily,” Dean said, “Flirt with her, sounds like she’s into you.”

Castiel visibly shuttered, causing Dean to laugh. “Not interested?”

“Not at all,” Castiel said when they sat at a table.

“Not hot?” Dean asked.

Castiel shrugged.

Dean raised an eyebrow at Cas, not entirely convinced with his answer, but decided not to press and busied himself with his plate of pasta. The two ate in silence for a few minutes before Dean heard his name called and turned around to be greeted by Benny from his architecture class. 

"Hey, Benny, what's up?" Dean asked as the older guy approached the table, his to-go box in one hand and the other on his backpack strap.

"Hey, brother," Benny greeted.

"This is my friend Cas," Dean said, nodding his head towards Castiel.

"Nice to meet you, Benny," Cas said.

"You too," Benny said in his smooth southern accent before turning to Dean, “I meant to ask you earlier if you wanted to come to a party tonight?"

"A party? Hell yeah!" Dean smiled excitedly.

"Sweet," Benny pulled his backpack off to rip a piece of notebook paper and bit the cap off a pen. He wrote the address on the paper with the cap clenched between his teeth. Dean sucked gently on his lip, watching Benny intently, silently wishing it was his own lip between Benny's teeth. "Here you go," he passed the ripped piece of paper to Dean. 

Dean accepted the piece of paper and read the address, recognizing the street name and trying to map in his head where it was. 

"Bring your friends, it'll be a good time, nothing too crazy."

"Awesome! We'll be there! Right, Cas?" Dean eagerly grinned to Castiel who nodded hesitantly.

"I'll see you guys later!" Benny waved goodbye to the two as he turned around and hurried out of the dining hall.

"You'll come?" Dean asked Castiel.

"Sure, why not?" Castiel said, "As long as I get some homework done first."

"Lot of homework already?" Dean asked as they stood up to put their plates with the pile of other dirty dishes.

"No, I just like to get ahead. I don't want to get behind in the first week," Castiel shrugged.

"Smart," Dean said, pointing at his friend.

"I'm actually going to get started on it now. I will see you tonight," Castiel said as they exited the dining hall and went their separate ways, waving at each other.

Castiel placed his backpack gently down on his desk when he returned to his room and emptied out his heavy textbooks before adding the empty mason jar he hid in his underwear drawer. After his very first encounter with his roommate Castiel was informed he would not tolerate any devious behavior, including smoking, so Cas felt the need to hide his stash where his roommate would not find (or smell) it. Castiel donned his backpack once again and locked the door behind him, unsure when his roommate would return, and knowing he certainly would not be back anytime soon.

Castiel was greeted with a, "Hello, darling," after he knocked three times on his dealer's door. 

"Hello, Crowley," Castiel said as Crowley moved to the side to allow him to enter the apartment.

"Back so soon, are we?" Crowley gently closed the door behind him.

"You know I can't stay away long," Castiel smirked, dropping his bag to the floor as Crowley inched closer to him.

"That's what I love about you, Castiel," Crowley said, grabbing Castiel's face and squeezing his cheeks. "Why don't we go into my office?" He said before placing a rough, toothy kiss to Castiel's neck.

Castiel groaned and closed his eyes, letting his head roll to the opposite side before grabbing onto Crowley's wide hips and digging his nails in.

"Yes, lets."

*

Gabriel threw his hands into the air as he approached Dean and Jo, who were sitting on the grass in front of the dining hall. "No idea where the hell he is," Gabe announced.

"He said he was going to do homework, maybe he went to the library," Dean said, shielding his eyes from the sun when he looked up to Gabriel standing before them.

"Or is in a friend's room," Jo piped in.

"What friend's?" Gabe snorted, Dean and Jo standing up and wiping grass from their pants.

"He has a life outside you, Gabriel," Jo said, sticking her tongue out her friend.

"Whatever, he'll show up. Can we eat?" Dean asked impatiently, they had already waited a while for Cas to show up and Dean was starving, especially after spending hours smelling pizza at work. 

"Alright, fine," Gabe sighed, although Dean was already halfway to the door.

By the time the three were almost done eating Castiel appeared, his hair even more disheveled more than it usually was, and his face was flushed.

"Where have you been?" Gabriel asked in a fatherly tone.

"Out," Castiel paused and remembered the lie he told Dean earlier, "Doing homework."

"Uh huh," Gabriel said with a mouth full of cookie.

"Have fun?" Dean winked, nodding to Castiel and glancing at his messy hair.

Castiel flushed even more and sat down quickly to place his Caesar salad on the table so his hands were free to attempt to mat down his hair. Castiel scowled before silently shoveling his salad into his mouth.

"Who is she? That RA of yours?" Dean smirked, and Castiel watched Dean sucking mustard off his finger, before he realized that he was unconsciously licking his own lips.

"So you're coming to the party tonight?" Gabriel interjected, ignoring Dean's constant need for sexual details.

"Yes I'll be there after I finish my reading assignment."

"Oh you didn't have time to finish?" Dean asked with a smirk, "You were studying for quite a while.”

Castiel shot Dean a glare before turning back to his dinner.

"Jeez, Dean, can't let a guy get laid without the third degree huh?" Jo said.

"Guys! Hello! This is my brother!" Gabriel exclaimed, covering his ears. After Dean closed his mouth and Jo looked satisfied; sneering at Dean; Gabriel said, "Be at our room for nine, Cassie." He glanced at his watch then announced he had to go to the liquor store and would see him later. 

"Cas, I'm just fuckin' with you, you know that right?" Dean said, hoping he didn't offend the kid too much, they didn’t know each other very well and Dean did like hanging out with him. From what he had heard from Gabriel, Castiel was pretty innocent and naive, he didn't want to make him afraid to be around Dean.

"Yes, Dean, I know that," he said before shoving his last bite of chicken into his mouth. "I will see you at nine," he nodded to the two before getting up swiftly.

#### 8:59 PM

Dean swung open his door, a buzzed smile on his face to greet Cas. 

"Hello, Dean."

"Hiya, Cas."

"Ready to go?" Castiel asked.

"In a minute," Gabriel said, holding up his beer, wanting to finish it before they left.

"Jo isn't coming?" Castiel asked when the three men headed towards the elevator.

"No, she's working," Dean said, impatiently hitting the down button again.

"That's too bad," Castiel said.

"Guys night!" Gabriel exclaimed excitedly before high-fiving Dean, then holding his arm out to his brother, who initially ignored the gesture, but after a pout and the bat of his eyelashes Castiel halfheartedly slapped his hand. 

They quickly reached the address Benny gave Dean, Dean recognized the street name because the apartment was just down the street from Campus Pizza. Cas didn't even have time to finish his joint, so they lingered outside for a few minutes while they smoked the rest of it before going up the stairs to the second floor apartment. Dean approached the door and knocked loudly on it, before a girl with dark hair opened the door.

"Dean, I'm a friend of Benny's, and this is Gabe and Cas," Dean said suavely, and the woman opened the door more, ushering them inside.

"Hope," she said as she closed the door behind them. Hope took a sip of her hard lemonade and said, "Drinks in the kitchen, and Benny's on the deck."

"Thank you," Gabe said, smirking as she walked away, swaying her hips and placing a squeeze on his shoulder as she walked past him. "Dibs," Gabriel leaned in to Dean.

The three made their way to the kitchen and started chatting with a guy named Rocky, who was leaning back on the kitchen counter with a bottle of Jack in his hand. After Rocky placed it back on the table and offered it to the guys, Dean eagerly poured himself a Jack and Coke, and to his surprise Cas asked him to pour him one as well. Gabe laughed as he watched his younger brother make a sour face when he took his first sip, but then shut his mouth when Castiel eagerly downed the rest of the cup.

"Woah, easy there tiger," Dean said, sipping his own drink.

"That's my baby bro!" Gabe exclaimed proudly, getting his brother another drink. He then spotted Hope in the other room and clapped his hand on Dean’s shoulder. "Keep an eye on him, will ya."

"You sure you've never drank before, you took that like a champ!" Dean leaned in closer to Cas, trying to talk to him over the music.

Castiel nodded as he lifted his cup to his lips again and Dean shook his head, thinking that Cas is full of surprises.

"C'mon, Cas, let's go find Benny," Dean said, sipping his drink.

They found Benny out on the deck, as Hope said. "Hey! Good to see ya friends!" Benny exclaimed, jumping up from his plastic seat to clap his hand on their shoulders.

"Of course, we can't turn down a party, right, Cas?" Dean said, clapping Benny on the back.

"Yes, thank you for inviting us, Benny," Cas said with a slight slur, his second drink was nearly empty.

Benny introduced the two to his friends on the deck, Andy and Adam. Andy waved, exhaling a large cloud of smoke before passing his joint to Adam, who also waved to the new guys. Dean leaned against the exterior of the house, sipping his drink, careful not to drink it too fast; Cas was already fairly intoxicated and Dean knew he had to watch out for him while Gabe was off with Hope. Turns out Adam was in Castiel's intro to psychology class, and now with the liquor flowing, the two were eager to make friends, able to talk at a more reasonable volume outside where the music wasn't blasting.

"So I take it you met Hope?" Benny asked, leaning on one shoulder against the wall next to Dean, lifting a beer bottle to his lips.

"Yeah, this her place?"

"Yeah, her and Lily. They throw parties every weekend."

"No shit," Dean sipped his drink, watching Cas talk animatedly with Adam. Dean noticed the dimples adorned his cheeks as Cas laughed, and the way his bright blue eyes sparkled, seeming even brighter than usual, likely due to the whiskey flowing through his system. He was briefly reminded of those cherub knick knacks his mother had above the fireplace at home. Their brightly painted eyes and rosy cheeks was an uncanny resemblance to Castiel, he was only missing a halo and wings; and the cherub missing some whiskey.

After a while Castiel downed the rest of his second drink and leaned in close to Dean, asking him if he wanted another drink, which of course Dean agreed. Castiel promised he would be right back and he was, with a small blonde in tow.

"That's Lily," Benny said, nodding to the girl who was twirling a strand of her hair around her finger and looking at Cas with doe eyes. "She likes your friend."

"Apparently," Dean said, watching over the younger guy, watching him blatantly ignore the girl's attempts to get his attention, Cas was still focused on talking with Andy and Adam. "Hey, Cas!" Dean exclaimed.

Castiel's head snapped towards Dean and he shuffled over to the wall and stood in front of Dean, far closer than Dean was used to or expected.

"Yes, Dean?" Cas almost stepped on Deans foot as he leaned in to hear Dean better.

"You didn't forget my drink did you?"

"No, it's right here," Cas extended his left arm and almost spilled the drink on the older boy.

"Thanks, Cas."

"You're welcome," he stood way too close to Dean for a few more moments, Dean could feel Cas's hot breath on his neck and squirmed uncomfortably before taking a long sip. He felt the whiskey burn his throat on its way down, Castiel clearly had a heavy hand with the Jack. They were pulled out of their trance by the blonde tapping Cas on the shoulder. He turned around so his back was to Dean, and Dean couldn't help but notice how tight Cas's jeans were. Dean’s chest warmed and his cheeks flushed- let’s blame that on the whiskey.

"What's Cas short for?" She asked, batting her lashes and tilting her head to the side.

"Castiel."

"Oh that's cool, Lily is short for Lillian."

"That's nice," Castiel said, nodding, uninterested in what she was saying. He was trying to turn his attention back to Andy, who was telling a story that had Adam in stitches.

Benny laughed, "Guess he doesn't like her too much."

Lily seemed to get bored when Castiel didn't engage and sauntered back to the party.

After a over an hour of chatting, drinking and smoking outside, Cas said he needed to use the bathroom, and because it was getting chilly; not because Dean wanted to keep an eye on Cas, Dean followed him inside.

"Hey, I'm going to stay here, can you make sure Cassie gets home safe?" Gabriel asked when he found Dean, glancing back at Hope who gave him a smile from what must have been her bedroom door.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll get him back. Wrap it up," Dean slapped Gabe in the chest before waving his hand in the air trying to get Castiel's attention after he exited the bathroom. Castiel swayed through the living room towards Dean. By the time Castiel made it over to Dean, Gabriel was long gone, the door was already shut behind him.

"You ready to go?" Dean asked his very drunk friend, who gripped onto Dean's shoulder for support.

"Yes," he slurred.

Dean saluted Benny and his new friends goodbye and Cas waved with a grin on his face. "Let's get you home," Dean huffed, opening the apartment door for Cas and starting down the main stairs before him just in case Cas stumbled. Castiel held onto Deans shoulder for dear life as the two made their way down the stairs.

"Thank you, Dean. 'Preciate it," Castiel slurred as he tripped over the curb and Dean held him up.

"Have fun?" Dean asked.

"Yes, I had a good time. Did you?" 

"Yeah, Cas."

The two continued towards campus in silence until Castiel asked, "How are things with you an’ Jo?"

“What do you mean?” Dean asked.

“You know, I see you two together. She left her shirt. I know wha’ that means," Castiel hiccuped, "I’m not dumb.” 

“I never said you were dumb, Cas.” 

"Gabriel sometimes thinks I am," Castiel slurred, "dumb with people."

“You're not, and we’re not together, we just sometimes have fun.” 

“Oh, so you just like to fuck?” Castiel asked as they turned onto the sidewalk that ran from central to south campus, where Castiel's dorm is.

Dean laughed, “Yeah pretty much. Why are you interested?” 

“Hm?” Castiel hummed after tripping over his own feet, Dean holding him up by his arm.

“Do you like Jo?” 

“Jo? Oh no! Nope,” Castiel laughed loudly, shaking his head.

“Why’s that funny?” 

“She’s not s’actly my type.” 

"Oh, hot blondes aren't your type? That why you ignored Lily tonight?"

"I wouldn't say that," Castiel said.

"So what is your type?" Dean asked as they approached Castiel's building.

Castiel shook his head and wagged his finger at Dean, "Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Well how can I set you up with someone if I don't know what you like?" Dean asked, stopping in front of the doors.

Castiel paused for a minute, thinking. "I think I like green eyes," he said before opening the main doors and waving Dean goodnight before Dean got the chance to respond.

_'Green eyes?'_ Dean thought to himself, _'Lily had green eyes'_ He yawned and ran his hands down his face, too tired to attempt to decode Castiel tonight.


	5. 5

Dean set down his plate on the dining table with a clatter, "So Cas is ditching us for dinner again?" He said, trying to hide the disappointment in his voice.

"He got a job," Gabe said with his mouth full of ziti.

"Doing what?" Jo asked before sipping on a water.

"Dorm reception."

Dean laughed with a mouthful, "That blows."

Gabriel shrugged, "They get paid to sit around and do nothing, sounds pretty legit to me."

Meanwhile, across campus in another freshman dorm Castiel was standing at the security desk behind a bubbly redheaded sophomore, Charlie. Charlie was instructed to train Castiel for his new job and was animatedly explaining the job to him.

"People think all we do is bag checks," she paused to wave at a boy who had just walked through the main entrance, "but we really don't do those that often. We're supposed to do random checks," Charlie made air quotes around the word 'random'. "We do those only certain times of the year, like Greek Week, or if we're suspicious that someone is sneaking in alcohol."

Cas tilted his head slightly when she mentioned Greek Week, not knowing what it is. Luckily Charlie caught on to that and continued, "Founders day for the first frat and sorority are on the same week, so that whole week gets pretty crazy." Castiel nodded, now remembering hearing Gabriel talk about it over the summer.

"Ah, yes, I've heard of that before, my brother is in Alpha Sig."

"So you'll be rushing?" Charlie asked, taken back, Castiel did not seem like the type to be involved in Greek life.

Castiel laughed, "No way."

"Oh good! I was worried you were one of those frat-bros. I mean the sorority girls are hot and all but I'd commit murder if I had to live in their house," Charlie laughed.

"Yes, I supposed they're attractive."

"Do you know any of the girls in Alpha Kappa Alpha?"

"No, I don't think so."

"They throw really fun parties, you should go to one. If you want I can get you in, I know people," she winked.

"Thank you for your offer," Castiel said, not particularly interested in going, but also wanting to get to know Charlie outside work.

"Anyway," Charlie said, getting back on topic of their job, "Mostly you just sign in guests and chillax. Oh! The guest book!" She exclaimed, remembering she has to show it to him. Charlie snatched the clipboard off the counter and waved it in the air. "Guests put who they're staying with, room number, sign and date it."

"That seems easy enough," Castiel said, giving the sign in sheet a once over.

Charlie nodded, "It's pretty self explanatory, most of the time they don't even sign in, it's not like we ID them to let them in," she shrugged.

"I see," Castiel said, nodding.

"Bring your homework or a book because it can be pretty boring, I like to get some reading in," she patted a copy of Lord of the Rings on the desk. 

Charlie and Castiel spent the next three hours of his shift discussing classes, books and their interests. The two of them were huge book worms, so they got along swimmingly despite their different genre preferences.

At lunch the next day Gabriel asked Castiel how the new job was, but before Cas could answer, Dean said, "Those guys suck."

“Because they enforce rules?” Jo said, rolling her eyes at Dean, knowing that for the most part dorm reception did nothing more than smile at you when you walked in the door.

Castiel glared at Dean, annoyed he wouldn't let him answer his brothers question. 

“You’re going to have to check bags for alcohol and shit," Dean shrugged.

"You get a water bottle of vodka confiscated once and suddenly they're your worst enemy," Jo retorted, sipping her coffee.

Suddenly Dean froze, then perked up, “Wait, this is awesome! Confiscate all the liquor you can! Free booze!” He exclaimed with a wicked grin.

“I’ll be cool, I’ll let it slide," Cas said, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

“Cool like Chuck?” Dean asked.

“Do not be cool like Chuck, Cas," Jo replied, laughing.

#### On a Wednesday

"Hello, Clarence," Meg purred as Castiel closed his dorm door, he paused with his key still in the lock.

"Hello, Meg."

She sauntered towards him, leaning against the bare wall, "Have a date to the homecoming game next week?"

"I wasn't planning on attending," Castiel shoved his keys into his pocket and adjusted his backpack.

"Well how about you go with me? It'll be awful fun, I'll bring a thermos of coco with Baileys, a blanket to cosy up under," she smirked. "After you'll come back to my room, RA's don't have roommates, you know."

"Thanks, but no thank you," Castiel said, nodding curtly to Meg before heading towards the stairs. He only made it a few feet before Meg pushed off the wall and stood in the middle of the hall in front of him.

"Come on, Clarence, it'll be a lot of fun," she bit her lip and tilted her head, her hands shoved into her back pockets.

"I appreciate your offer, but no thank you," he said again, but more firmly.

Her expression dropped, clearly not being used to getting turned down. "What? You've got a girlfriend back home?"

"No," Castiel said shortly, and attempted to walk around Meg, but she stepped in his way again.

"Then what gives, angel?"

"I am not interested," he paused. "Now if you could please move, I have class."

She scoffed, "You gay or something, Clarence?" with an attitude, a hand on her hip.

"Yes! Now, get out of my way!" Castiel exclaimed, his raised voice caused a student at the end of the hall to look in his direction. "And stop calling me Clarence, it's not my name, damn it!"

Meg smiled, enjoying getting a rise out of him, "You've got moxie, I like that," she winked before Castiel hurried down the hall, anxious to get away from her and to get to class.


	6. 6

Castiel ran into Garth. Literally. Castiel was staring at his coffee in his travel mug, not paying attention to where he was going, when he walked straight into Garth who was just leaving his room.

"I'm very sorry, I should have been paying attention," Castiel said, noticing his coffee all over his hand and on Garth's jacket.

"It's alright, no problemo amigo," Garth said, wiping the coffee off his sleeve. "Gotta do laundry anyway. Where are you off to in such a hurry on a Saturday morning?"

Castiel glanced at his watch, it read 8:24, "The library," Castiel said as he shook beads of coffee off his hand.

"Me too! Want to walk together?"

Castiel shrugged, "Sure. Castiel," he extended his now hand and the other boy shook it eagerly.

"Garth."

"Nice to meet you Garth, now may I buy you a coffee to make up for spilling mine on you?"

"Only if I get to spill mine on you!" Garth said with a goofy smile.

At the library Castiel was about to head towards the first open table as he usually does but Garth had other plans, "If I show you a secret spot will you promise not to spoil it?"

"Of course, your secret is safe with me."

"Come on then," Garth waved Castiel to the left of the library entrance, in the opposite direction of the open desk. Garth led Castiel through what looked like an emergency exit but led to a stairway. 

"You aren't going to murder me are you?" Castiel asked when Garth started walking down the stairs into the library basement, which earned a laugh from his new friend.

There was another door at the bottom of the stairs, revealing the rarely used library archives. There were four large tables and no one to be found. The two set down their fresh coffees and settled in at across from each other. Castiel pulled out his world history book and notebook, ready to begin studying for his upcoming exam.

"Hey I'm taking world history too! Dr. Wentworth?"

Castiel nodded.

"Ugh! I hate that guy! He's so boring, he just drones on and on," Garth said in a low, monotone voice, imitation the professor. Castiel chuckled, mentioning that Garth’s impression was spot on before turning his attention to his book.

"I could really use a study buddy, want to get together again?" Garth asked after Castiel glanced at his watch and announced he had to meet a friend for lunch in 20 minutes, not realizing it was almost twelve.

"That would be nice. How about Tuesday and Thursdays at 7?" Cas asked after he mentally pictured his schedule to see when he was free.

"Perfect! Lets meet down here. And don't tell anyone about it!" Garth pointed a warning finger at his new friend.

Castiel had to hurry to the dining hall across campus if he wanted to meet Charlie for lunch on time. When he arrived to the dining hall Charlie was reading the flyers tacked to a bulletin board in the lobby.

"Charlie, I'm sorry I'm late," Cas huffed, out of breath from hurrying across campus.

"It's cool," she said, still staring at the flyers. "You in any clubs?" She said when she finally looked away and started walking towards the cafeteria entrance.

"No, I want to focus on school, I don't think I have time for any extracurricular's," he said, following her.

"Such a nerd, Castiel," Charlie joked, sticking her tongue out at him.

He shrugged, not realizing she was kidding, but also not necessarily caring if she did think he was nerdy. Castiel had gone his entire life as a nerdy kid, his parents treasured education; and when he and his brothers were sent to live with Zachariah he expected nothing less than straight A's from them all. He was the head of debate club, took almost every class at an advanced level, and spent most of his free time reading for pleasure. At least until he met Ruby. Ruby was an outcast- in a bit of a different way than Castiel was. She was rarely sober, skipped class, stayed out way past curfew; but somehow she and Castiel became inseparable. 

"I'm in the GSA," she said as they got in line for sandwiches.

"What's that?" Castiel asked, turning his attention to his friend, thoughts of Ruby pushed to the back of his mind.

"Gay straight alliance. It's a lot of fun. You should come to a meeting with me sometime!"

Castiel shifted uncomfortably, not wanting to seem rude but also not quite feeling ready to come out to someone he just met, after all, Gabriel was the only person here who knew about his sexuality. Well, unfortunately now Meg too.

"You don't have to," Charlie added quickly. "It's just a nice place to go and feel like you belong, ya know."

Castiel nodded, "That's good, I'm glad you have a place where you feel like you belong." 

Maybe Castiel should go, finding somewhere he belonged was all he had been seeking, and he had a feeling university was where he would find that.

*

Chuck banged loudly on Gabriel and Dean's door with his backpack slung over his shoulders. Gabe answered the door with a grin on his face and a, "Heya."

"How's it going?" Chuck asked, shimmying his bag off.

"Pretty good, my friend," Gabe said as he shut the door behind him, not bothering to lock it. He went over to his bed where his suitcase full of contraband was stashed underneath it.

"Hey, Dean," Chuck said, nodding to Dean.

"Please, take whatever you'd like," Gabe said proudly as he gently laid the suitcase on his bed and unzipped it.

"Holy shit," Chuck said, looking at the open bag, full of handles of vodka. 

Gabe beamed, proud of getting his liquor stash into the building after realizing the easiest way to get it into their dorm was in his bags during move in day as there was no chance in hell the bags would be searched. "Got weed too."

"Take my fuckin' money," Chuck mumbled as he set his backpack on the bed and moved two handles into his own bag before pulling out his wallet and paying Gabe. He tried to give extra money to Gabe for weed but Gabe shook his head, insisting it was a gift.

Chuck thanked Gabe again before heading out of their room with a quick wave.

After Chuck left Gabe flicked the lock, and him and Dean begin the long process of filling empty water bottles they've collected (unused of course) over the past few weeks with vodka. When they finished Dean went down the hall to Jo's room to alert her to tell her friends they had alcohol ready for purchase. Jo must have told Bela the supply had arrived because a few hours later Bela and her friends showed up looking for drinks.

*

On their way to work after lunch Charlie and Castiel were discussing books, Charlie was a huge fan of fantasy, where Castiel was more of a nonfiction reader. Their conversation was interrupted by someone shouting, "Hey Cas! Wait up!"

The two stopped and Castiel turned around, face to face with Dean. Dean was grinning, his green eyes shining in the bright sunlight. "Hello, Dean." His lips turned up into a smile.

"Where are you going?" Cas noticed a few beads of sweat gathering around Dean's hairline, and how his Metallica T-shirt clung to his chest.

"Lunch," Dean laughed. "Hey, I'll see you later okay?" Dean turned around, he had gone in the opposite direction he was walking to catch up with Castiel. He walked a few feet before turning to face Cas and waved at him, his eyes glued to Castiel's.  
.  
"See you!" Cas shouted after him, then Dean broke their eye contact and hurried off towards the dining hall.

Castiel turned his head back and continued walking with Charlie towards their destination.

"Who was that?" Charlie asked, nudging Castiel with her elbow.

"Dean. I'm sorry I didn't have time to introduce you two. When he's hungry he's on a mission," Cas chuckled before turning his head back again, this time Dean was long gone.

"You guys seem close," Charlie said, earning a blush and a stammered "Yeah," from Castiel. Charlie smirked to herself and eyed Castiel out of the corner of her eye, his face was beet red. 

He cleared his throat, "But I suppose my favorite fiction author is Stephen King."

Charlie muttered an "Uh, huh," now not entirely interested in talking about books anymore. 

*

“Who’s your weed man?” Chuck asked after dinner when he ran into Gabe and Dean in the hall.

Gabe shrugged and said, "I get it from Castiel."

Chuck laughed and said, "Castiel? Seriously? The accountant in a trench coat?"

"No, I'm serious. Castiel."

Dean confirmed and shook his head, “Total stoner."


	7. 7

Gabriel eyed Dean and Cas, who were seated upright on Dean's bed with their backs against the wall; Cas laughed loudly, clutching his stomach. Dean's eyes flitted from Castiel's dimples to his eyes, tearing up from laughing so hard. Dean's mouth pulled into a grin at the sight of his friends laughter. Castiel put a hand on Dean's shoulder and gripped it tight, holding himself upright so he wouldn't literally fall over laughing. Gabriel raised his eyebrows and his mouth pulled into somewhat of a grimace. 

Gabriel had noticed over the past few weeks his brother and his best friend were becoming closer and closer, but right now, they were practically on top of each other. He furrowed his brows quizzically, but neither noticed because they were still too wrapped up in laughter. After a few minutes Castiel's laughter died down and he was finally able to catch his breath.

When Dean was snapped back to reality he glanced at his clock on his desk and jumped off the bed, "Shit, I've gotta get ready for work." Dean grabbed his towel off the back of his desk chair and snatched his shampoo and bar of soap from the closet. 

Castiel and Gabriel looked at each other, Gabe's brow was still furrowed.

"What?" Castiel asked, shifting on Dean's bed uncomfortably.

"Nothing," Gabe shook his head and grinned wickedly.

"You have that look."

"What look?"

Castiel sighed and rolled his eyes, not wanting to deal with his brother and his weird judgmental looks. 

"You guys are two peas in a pod, huh?" Gabe asked, crossing his arms in front of his chest and leaning so his back was against his headboard.

"We get along very well, if that's what you're trying to say."

"Very well," Gabriel said, staring at his brother and raising his eyebrows suggestively.

"I don't know what you're getting at, Gabriel," Castiel said flatly.

Gabe didn't have the chance to respond before Dean flung the door open, and started rummaging through his pile of dirty clothes on the floor. Cas's attention was instantly draw to Dean, Dean's bare, wet chest, to be exact. Cas bit his lip as he watched Dean triumphantly find his work shirt and throw it over his damp body, the shirt sticking to his back, exposing part of his lower back. The towel around his waist was hoisted up to his knees as Dean attempted to pull his boxers on under the towel before dropping it and straightening out his shirt.

Castiel continued to stare at Dean's ass as he bent over to pick up his jeans from the floor and shove them on, then moving to tie his boots. Cas felt his chest tighten and tingle watching Dean get dressed, then was snapped out of his trance when Dean slammed the door behind him. 

Castiel continued staring at the empty space where Dean was, but felt eyes staring into him. He turned his head and saw his brother staring intently at him, mouth open- shocked. Castiel couldn't believe how blatantly he had just checked out Dean in front of his brother. He jumped off the bed, "I gotta go," he said quickly before Gabe had the chance to speak.

_‘What the hell just happened,’_ Gabriel thought to himself as his bedroom door slammed shut.

#### On a Friday 12:19 PM

"Meg asked me out," Castiel said, sighing loudly at his pasta dish. "She was quite persistent."

"Dude! I told you she liked you!" Dean said, smacking the table in victory before pointing at Castiel. "So you hit it yet?"

Jo let out a, "Gross, Dean," that went ignored by him. 

"No, Dean, I haven't 'hit it'," Castiel said, making finger quotes, "And I'm not going to, I declined her offer but she continued to ask me until I got angry with her."

"A girl asks you out, and keeps asking you out and you say no?" Dean asks.

"I am not interested," he spun his fork in his pasta.

"Not interested?" Dean asked.

"No," Castiel shifted in his seat uncomfortably.

Dean went to open his mouth but Gabriel quickly said, "I'll get her out of your hair," with a wink to his brother.

Castiel's lips pulled up in a slight smile, a silent thank you to his brother.

"What are we doing tonight?" Jo asked, changing the subject, sick of listening to the guys talk about sex.

"Charlie and I are going to the library, you're welcome to join us," Castiel said, knowing Charlie and Jo had calculus together and may want to study together.

"It's Friday night, Cassie!" Gabe exclaimed with a mouthful of fries, trying to eat as much as he can before he had to go to his afternoon class.

"Yes, I'm aware of what day it is."

"We're going to the house, right?" Dean asked Gabriel, who was gathering up his things to leave for class.

"Yup!" Gabe waved excitedly as he rushed off to class, knowing he will just barely make it in time.

"You should come, bring Charlie," Dean said.

"I don't think a frat party is exactly Charlie's scene," Jo said.

Castiel nodded in agreement, "I think we will stick to our original plan of studying at the library."

* 

After a few minutes of silent reading in the library Charlie looked up at Castiel, "Does he know?"

"Does who know what?" Castiel asked, raising an eyebrow and looking up from his notebook.

"Dean. Does he know you like him?" Charlie said quietly.

Castiel looked around, making sure no one overheard her, of course no one did, they were in the isolated area of the library Garth showed him. 

"It's pretty obvious, the way you stare at him."

Castiel blushed profusely, "No, he doesn't know."

"Tell him! He definitely likes you."

" And how do you know this?"

"It's so obvious, Cas. I met him that one time and I could see it."

"He doesn't know I'm gay, and I'm pretty sure he's straight," Cas said, looking down and picking at his eraser.

"It looks to me like he's into you too, he looks at you like you're the moon."

Castiel blushed a deeper shade of red, "I don't know."

"Trust me, Cas. There's no way a human could possibly look at another person that way and not be madly in love with them."

"I- I don't know, I think that's just his face," Castiel said, shrugging. 

Charlie raised an eyebrow and said, "That's just his face?"

Castiel huffed and mumbled, "I'm trying to study, can't we talk about my love life another time," he made a point not to look at Charlie and pull his textbook closer to his face.

"Fine, but it _will_ be discussed," Charlie said with emphasis.

Castiel replied with a "Mhm hmm," attempting to ignore her conversation.


	8. 8

#### Late September on a Wednesday 6:43 PM

In the couple weeks following his conversation with Charlie, Castiel could not get what she said out of his mind. 

_He looks at you like you're the moon._ Castiel kept replaying that in his head, wondering if Charlie was right or if that was just how Dean was. Castiel had only known Dean for a few weeks, maybe that was how he was with everyone, Castiel just didn't know him well enough to know. His mind's war of _'He loves me, he loves me not'_ drew Castiel to Dean more than usual, wanting to spend more time with him to try to figure it out. Castiel wanted to know more about Dean, he wanted to know everything about him. But the more time Castiel spent with Dean, the more Gabriel seemed to pry, which led to Castiel backing off a bit mostly because he knew how meddling his brother can be. And the last thing he wanted was Gabriel to get involved in his love life, or lack there of.

Castiel sat perched on the edge of Gabriel's bed, inhaling deeply before he passed the joint to his brother next to him. Gabriel coughed loudly as he reached across the gap between his and Dean's beds to pass it to his roommate. 

"I spoke with Anna yesterday," Castiel said, leaning back against the wall.

"Yeah? How's she doin'?" Gabe asked.

"She is well, she's enjoying school. She says Chicago is lovely, but she misses us terribly."

"Anna? Your cousin right?" Dean asked between coughs.

"Yes, technically-"

Gabriel cut off his brother, "She's our sister, we grew up together." 

Castiel nodded, "She's like a sister." Gabriel rolled his eyes at his brother, he was always so literal.

"And she went all the way to Chicago for college?" Dean asked with a raised eyebrow, he knew all of the Novak siblings except Luke went to UKansas because their father donated a shit load of money to the school before he passed away. "Why didn't she come here like the rest of you?"

"Anna wanted an adventure," Gabe shrugged, knowing Anna was always dying to get away from their hometown, Zachariah in particular. "Always looking for a new adventure," Gabe smiled.

"Anna and I have always been very close, she's only a few months younger than I am. I miss her very much," Castiel said as he stared sadly at his joint.

"We could take a weekend to visit her, you know. It's a 2 hour plane ride," Gabriel said clapping his brother on the knee when he noticed how sad his brother was thinking about their sister. 

"That would be nice," Castiel said with a smile, making a mental note to hold Gabe to this.

"You guys want pizza?" Dean said with a grin in an attempt to get Castiel's mind off his sister.

"You read my mind!" Gabriel exclaimed with a toothy smile.

The three argued about pizza toppings for over 20 minutes until Jo threw open the door, with food also on her mind. "Why can't you guys pick a topping? It's not an SAT question for fucks sake!" She exclaimed when they continued to bicker. 

"Hawaiian is the perfect combination of sweet and salty," Gabriel argued for probably the hundredth time, advocating for his favorite topping.

"Fruit doesn't belong on pizza, it's criminal!" Dean exclaimed.

"Gabe we'll split a Hawaiian, and you two get whatever you want," Jo said, tapping her foot impatiently on the tile floor as she motioned to Dean and Cas. She just wanted to get the decisions over with so they could eat already.

"Cas?" Dean asked, hoping Castiel would agree to meat lovers, because Dean would prefer to eat Gabe's Hawaiian over pepper and onion, it at least had meat on it.

Castiel laughed, "Fine, meat lovers it is. I'm too hungry to argue any more."

Dean cheered with victory before Jo picked up the phone, finally ready to order.

After Jo placed the phone back in its receiver, Dean asked, "So where have you been lately? Found cooler friends?"

Jo snorted, "I've been hanging out with Charlie. We have calc together."

"Charlie is cooler than both of you," Castiel said as he lit another joint.

"Ditching us to study math?" Dean asked, putting a hand on his chest, as if he was offended. "Who are you?"

Jo rolled her eyes, "We've been hanging out, it's nice to hang out with someone who doesn't spend most of their time in burping contests with their roommate."

Castiel laughed loudly, while Dean attempted to defend himself, "We don't do that." Jo shot Dean a deadly stare until he added, "much."

"Charlie's a lot of fun, you guys would really like her."

Castiel nodded, "You would."

Jo suddenly grinned, "Hey we should all get together with Charlie and have a movie night!"

"I would enjoy that," Castiel said, "we could use a break from the library."

#### First week of October on a Monday 7:30 PM

"I have to make an appointment with my adviser to choose Spring classes by Friday?" Castiel asked, wide eyed after Gabriel asked him if he had done so already.

"Yeah, you didn't know that? There are posters hanging up everywhere about it."

"No one pays attention to those stupid posters," Dean interjected, not looking up from his architecture textbook.

"But the semester just started!" Castiel exclaimed.

"Yeah you make an appointment to meet with your adviser in a couple weeks, you go over what classes you need, come up with a schedule and then sign up in November."

"How do I find out who my adviser is?" Castiel asked, his cheeks red, flustered and feeling like he was falling behind despite it being October of his first semester.

"Go to the psych department, there should be a list in the department office. There will be appointment sign up sheets too," Gabriel instructed his brother, knowing giving him instructions would calm him down.

"Okay, I should go do that now-"

Gabriel interrupted his brother, "It's 7:30 at night, the office is closed. Just go in the morning before your first class and you'll be fine."

Castiel nodded obediently before announcing he had homework to do. As soon as he arrived back to his room, he set his alarm clock extra early to give him plenty of time to make it to the psychology department office before his morning class.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! As you may have noticed I have changed the story's rating. I ended up writing a future chapter that was definitely explicit and not mature. I wasn't planning on going that route but things changed.
> 
> I also know the past couple chapters haven't been that exciting, but things will being to pick up soon I promise.


	9. 9

#### On a Tuesday 10:57 AM

Dean plopped into a seat in his history class next to Castiel, who already had his notebook opened to a fresh page and his textbook dutifully waiting beside it. "Hey Cas, get your appointment squared away?"

"Yes, I did. You took Intro to Psychology, right?"

"Yup," Dean said flatly.

"Did you have it with Dr. Alastair?”

Dean felt all the blood drain from his face, his eyes went wide. "Your adviser is Dr. Alastair?"

Castiel nodded.

"You need to switch. Tell the department secretary you need a new adviser," Dean said in a rushed tone.

"What? Why?" Castiel asked, but his question was drowned out by their professor starting lecture.

"Just do it," Dean said in a stern, but hushed voice.

Castiel stared at Dean with a tilted head, concerned by the way Dean suddenly shut down when he mentioned Dr. Alastair. He wanted to push and find out why Dean did not want him to meet with his adviser. Not wanting to disturb the class, Castiel decided to keep quiet for now and talk to Dean after class.

Dean apparently did not want to talk after class. As soon as their professor stopped talking Dean had his backpack in his hand and was already out of his seat before Castiel could even turn to Dean and ask if he wanted to get lunch later.

Castiel tilted his head once more, deep in thought about why Dean would not talk to him. Cas was lost in his thoughts, and was only brought back to reality when their professor called out his name, asking if he had any questions. Castiel shook his head, noticing he was the only student left in the lecture hall, the professor even had his briefcase packed, also ready to leave. 

"No, thank you," Cas said politely, which earned him a wave and a "See you on Thursday," from his professor. Castiel hurried out of his seat, he was going to be late to his drawing class.

After Castiel's drawing class he ran into Gabriel, who was on his way to his last class of the day. Castiel decided to walk with his brother to the fitness center and inquire about Dean's odd behavior. Cas told his older brother that Dean was very adamant Castiel switch advisers. Gabriel shrugged, "No idea, ask him."

"He won't tell me. He just told me to switch advisers. Is Dr. Alastair mean or something?"

"Maybe," Gabe adjusted his mostly empty backpack, "all I know is Dean-o had him for a class and would always leave class fuming about him. I stopped listening and he eventually stopped complaining."

This unfortunately did not give Castiel any answers, but he said he would try to talk to him again as they approached the fitness center. Gabriel stepped off the sidewalk, wanting to get away from his brother pining for information about Dean again, but also in the direction of an emergency exit that was his shortcut to his health class.

Castiel sighed as he walked away from the old fortress of a building, dreading going to his appointment with Dr. Alastair the following week. He needed a distraction from his racing thoughts, so instead of walking back to campus Castiel crossed the street and walked towards the best distraction he knew.

"What a lovely surprise," Crowley said as he swung his door open to greet his unexpected visitor.

"I was nearby," Castiel shrugged, thinking it wasn't entirely a lie since the fitness center was much closer to Crowley's than his dorm.

"You know I never mind a visit from my favorite angel," Crowley winked as he stepped out of the doorway to allow Castiel to enter. 

Castiel immediately noticed the thin redhead on the couch, talking sternly into the phone.

"So is this visit business or pleasure?"

"Both," Castiel said, turning his attention back to Crowley, who was now smirking.

Crowley turned and started walking towards his bedroom with Castiel on his tail before Cas heard his name called. He turned around, the redhead now off the phone and staring directly at him.

"Your brother says hello," she said in an accent similar to Crowley's, Castiel thought they must be relatives.

Cas chuckled, not surprised that Gabriel knew his dealer. The redhead just tilted her head slightly and pursed her lips before he asked, "How do you know him?"

"He's a loyal customer, almost as loyal as you," Crowley said, licking his lips, eagerly waiting for the younger boy. 

Cas chuckled again, "Of course he is," before he followed Crowley into his room.

The redhead stared at the bedroom door with a frown as she heard it lock, wondering why Castiel would laugh when he hadn't seen his brother in years.


	10. 10

#### On a Friday 07:26 PM

Benny was sent to campus pizza Friday evening to pick up pizza when he was greeted by Dean running the register.

"Hey, brother," Benny greeted, earning a big smile from Dean.

"Hey, man. Happy to see a familiar face tonight," Dean said, the shift had been hell so far and seeing Benny would be enough to get Dean through the last hour and a half.

"You too man, what are you doing tonight?" Benny said, handing over the cash he collected from the girls.

"Once I get out of this place I hope to drink to forget it," Dean chuckled as he counted Benny's change.

"That bad, eh?" 

Dean shook his head and laughed, "Two people called out, I've been stuck on register since I walked in, haven't even gotten the chance to piss."

"Well, nobody's waitin' right now," as soon as Benny said it, Dean hurried off towards the back.

When Dean returned Benny's pizzas were done and waiting to be eaten, "Thanks," Benny said as Dean handed him the two pies. "When you're out come by to Hope's, her brother is in town for the weekend, it's gonna be wild," he waved to Dean before hurrying out of the store to get the pizzas back while they're still hot.

It was still quiet enough so Dean grabbed the phone and dialed the number to his dorm room, "Gabe, forget the frat, we're going to Hope's," then he hurriedly hung up the phone when one of the cooks shouted something from out back.

When Dean got back to his room Gabe and Cas had clearly been pre-gaming for the frat house, they were emerged in a very competitive game of Mario Kart on the old Nintendo Dean stole from the living room back home. The two had a small pile of empty beer cans between them, and apparently Cas was even better at it than Gabe, he had just passed Gabe and was now an entire lap ahead of him. Gabriel swore loudly at his brother as he approached the finish line, Castiel grinning from his victory.

Dean started to change, he did not want to go to a party stinking like pizza, and pulled his shirt over his head. Castiel's attention was now focused on Dean, his back shining lightly with sweat, he couldn't stop staring, his mouth hung open in a goofy, tipsy smile. When Dean bent over to rummage through his dresser Castiel's eyes wandered further south from Dean's toned back, he couldn't help but notice how low Dean's jeans hung on his hips. 

Gabriel had finished complaining about losing “Beginner’s luck,” and noticed his brother was completely silent, staring at Dean bent over. Gabe wasn't even sure his brother was breathing because he was that still, that focused on Dean. He turned away quickly, feeling like he was invading Castiel's space, despite Castiel visibly checking out his best friend right in front of him.

"You guys ready?" Dean asked after he had pulled on his shirt and turned around, snapping Castiel out of his trance.

"Yup," Gabe said. 

"Jo out of work yet?" 

"I'll go check," Gabriel volunteered, causing Castiel to furrow his brow because Gabriel did in fact know she was out of work and had stopped by only a few minutes before Dean got back.

The door slammed behind him and Dean made a confused face at Castiel, who just shrugged and turned to shut down the console and small television. Dean lifted his arms and sniffed under them before re-applying his deodorant, feeling very sweaty after a night of standing near the brick oven.

Castiel was about to ask Dean how his night went when the door opened and Jo shouted, "Who's ready to fuckin' party?"

Once inside Hope and Lily's apartment the group was greeted by Hope, "Hey, cool to see you guys again," when she noticed Gabe standing behind Dean she lit up.

"Can I get you a drink?" He asked casually, walking around Dean.

"Please," she smiled and allowed herself to be led away by Gabriel.

"How can she stand him for more than one night?" Dean asked.

"You spend every night with him voluntarily," Castiel said, making Jo burst out laughing, and Dean scowl.

"Come on, Cas!" Dean said still with a scowl.

"Hey, beats drinking alone, huh?" Benny called out across the room at Dean before pushing himself through the crowd of people towards his friend.

"Damn right it does," Dean shouted.

"Who's your friend?" Benny said, eyeing Jo.

"Benny, this is Jo," Dean said loudly over the music.

"Can I get you a drink?" Benny said, leaning in closer to Jo so she could hear him.

"Yes!" She shouted back.

Benny escorted Jo towards the kitchen, leaving Dean and Castiel alone once again. Dean started to rummage through the backpack he had on and pulled out two beer cans and passed one to Cas. Castiel was a lightweight, and he was already decently buzzed from the couple drinks he had with Gabriel, so he took a small sip and watched Dean's adams apple bob up and down as he chugged his down.

Castiel looked up when he heard his name called, he saw Adam pushing through people to reach him.

"Hey, it's this guy!" Adam exclaimed and clapped Castiel on the shoulder a bit rougher than he anticipated, the alcohol dulling his senses.

"Hello, Adam," Castiel smiled.

Out of the corner of his eye Castiel noticed a thin, taller guy watching him from across the room. When Castiel saw him the guy flashed him a smirk and winked before he brought a cup to his mouth. Castiel turned away, blushing, and by the time he turned back the dark haired mystery guy had disappeared into the crowd.

"I'm sorry what was that?" Castiel asked Adam, after realizing he wasn't listening to a single thing his new friend was saying.

"I asked what your topic for our term paper is," Adam said, leaning in closer to Castiel to speak to him over the commotion of the party.

"Oh, I haven't quite figured it out yet," he responded before he felt a tap on his arm.

Dean shouted something to Castiel, but over Adam talking, the music and nearby conversations, Castiel missed what he said. He figured it wasn't too important because a moment later Dean was going towards the direction of the kitchen, he didn’t wait for Cas to respond. 

While Castiel was discussing psychology with Adam, Dean took the opportunity to wander and see if he knew anyone else there. It seemed Gabriel and Hope were nowhere to be found, which didn't surprise Dean; knowing Gabe they were probably already in her bed. When he found Benny and Jo they were destroying two guys at the beer pong table.

Benny and Jo high fived each other as Dean approached his friends, they only had two cups left, while their opponents had at least five. "This girl's my lucky charm!" Benny exclaimed after he sunk his shot and threw an arm around her shoulder.

"You guys kicked ass!" Dean exclaimed to his friends after they finished their game.

"Nah, it was all her," Benny said before taking a long sip of his beer.

"He's right," Jo grinned before reaching around Dean to pull another beer from his bag.

Minutes later Gabriel joined them, his hair messy and desperate for a drink. Instead of opening a new one, Gabriel grabbed the beer out of Dean's hand and drank the rest of it in one go.

"Dude!" Dean exclaimed.

Gabriel wiped dribbles of beer off his chin, "I was parched." He handed the can back to Dean, who shook it and discovered only a little bit sloshed around.

"Gross, I don't know what was in your mouth last."

"Actually you do, Dean-o," Gabriel winked, then dug out two fresh drinks and passed one to his friend.

Jo punched Gabe in the arm, "You're so disgusting."

Gabriel just shrugged her off, "Where's my baby bro?"

"Last I saw he was talking to someone, uh, Adam?" Dean said, thinking hard about what his name was again.

Gabriel nodded before turning around and exiting back to the main living space, afraid his brother was alone and bored. Luckily, Gabriel was wrong. He found Castiel out on the deck sitting on a plastic chair that looked like it was going to break at any moment. A brown haired guy passed Castiel a joint, who took it eagerly and inhaled deeply.

When Castiel noticed his brother step outside he nodded in his direction and exhaled the smoke, then extended his arm to offer the joint to him. Behind Gabriel was the dark haired guy who was checking him out earlier. The mystery man lingered in the doorway for a moment, his brown eyes locked with Castiel's. Once again, he felt his cheeks turn pink and licked his lips, partly from his mouth being very dry suddenly, and because he now noticed how handsome this man was. He stepped onto the deck, and excused himself to get past Gabriel.

Castiel nervously sipped on his beer and locked eyes with the man when he settled on a spot and leaned against the wooden railing. The joint made its way back to Castiel, and he happily accepted it, turning his attention away from the man.

After a few minutes, the joint was finished and Adam and his friends all agreed that it was time for them to go get something to eat. Now that the seat next to him was open, the stranger sat down and flashed his bright smile to Castiel. 

Gabriel was disappointed the seat was occupied for a moment before realizing his drink was almost empty and that he would have had to get back up in a few minutes to get a new one. The other seats were occupied by Lily and her friends, who Gabriel hadn't yet met.

"Come here often?" The mystery man said to Castiel casually. His voice was light, and he had an accent Castiel couldn't quiet place. 

"Do you say that to everyone you meet at a party?" Castiel asked before sipping his drink.

The man laughed and replied, "First time, actually."

"Been here once before, you?"

"Never, just moved from Rhode Island."

"That's pretty far," Castiel said, interested in learning more about him.

"My sister lives here, I missed her too much," he said shyly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"You two must be close."

"Very," he said, nodding before sipping his cup. Castiel watched as he licked his lips when he pulled the cup away, his eyes wandering further south. A tuft of dark hair stuck out of the top of his yellow shirt that clung to his chest in all the right places. "My eyes are up here," he joked, Castiel turned bright red and his eyes darted away, they landed on a pair of feet across the deck. "Relax," he said smoothly, placing a hand on Castiel's knee.

Gabriel saw this man put his hand on Castiel's leg, and suddenly decided it was time for another drink. The last thing he wanted to do was make his little brother uncomfortable, especially at a party where he was likely already feeling like a fish out of water. Gabriel decided to leave those two alone for now and try to locate Dean and hopefully prevent him from cock-blocking Jo and Benny.

"Has anyone ever told you you're drop dead gorgeous?" The man leaned in, his lips less than an inch from Castiel's ear. He felt his hot breath on his ear, shivers went down his spine and his breath caught in his throat. 

"A few times," Castiel said.

The man pulled back and laughed, "Confident too, I love that."

"My name is Castiel, by the way."

"Tony," he paused, "now that we're acquainted, do you want to come back to my place?"

Castiel smirked, "I was hoping you'd ask."

The two stood up and made their way back inside. "I need to tell my friends I'm leaving," Castiel said, going up on his toes to ensure Tony heard him. 

"No problem," he responded.

Castiel wandered around the apartment for a few minutes before he spotted Jo sitting on the arm of a couch. He approached her and saw Hope and Lily crammed onto the couch next to another person he didn't recognize. Jo smiled and shouted his name when he was in front of her, she was clearly intoxicated and happy to see him. "Where's my brother?"

Jo sat thinking for a moment before pointing behind Castiel, he turned around and saw a few feet away Gabriel, Benny and Dean standing together, laughing. "Gabriel, I am leaving. I uh, ran into a friend from class. We're going back to his place to watch movies," Castiel said, coming up with the fib as he told it.

Dean turned around with a slight frown on his face, disappointed Castiel was leaving the party so early.

"See ya bro!" Gabriel said, waving, Benny and Dean following suite.

"Have fun," Dean said with a small smile.

Castiel turned around and Tony was no longer behind him, luckily he was so tall Castiel was able to spot him across the room near the bathroom. Tony was twirling his key ring on his finger.

"Are you okay to drive?" Castiel asked.

"I walked," Tony assured him before stepping very close to the shorter man and grabbing his hand, lacing their fingers together to lead him out the door.

Dean, Benny, and Gabe eventually made their way back over to the couch where Jo, Hope and Lily were still sitting, giggling at a couple arguing nearby.

"You slept with my frat brother," Jo said in a deep voice before laughing hysterically, mocking the arguing couple.

At that moment the boys approached them and Jo received confused looks from all three of them, making the girls laugh harder

"Okay," Dean said, dragging out the 'o'.

"You had to be there," Lily said between giggles.

"Hey, where's Cas?" Jo asked, looking around but not seeing him with the guys.

"He left with a friend from class," Dean said.

Hope stifled a laugh and covered her mouth, "Sorry. Couldn't help it."

"What?"

"Nothing," she shook her head. She paused for a minute before laughing more, "Just glad to see Tony is getting some."

"What do you mean?" Dean asked. 

Hope shook her head with a laugh, "He didn’t leave with a friend from class,” before suggestively raising her eyebrows.

Dean scowled and turned away from her and took a long sip of his beer. He stormed off to find a trash can, then opened another beer. A beer can flew through the air and landed in the trash, narrowly missing Dean's arm. Dean turned around quickly to see who threw that and was face to face with Gabriel.

"What's with the attitude man?" Gabe asked before he hoisted himself up onto the small space of counter top that was clear of bottles and cups.

"Cas lied to us." Dean was suddenly overwhelmed with anger. Maybe it was the beer, maybe it was jealousy; Dean knew it was both. He was pissed that Cas lied to them- _to him_.

Gabriel shrugged, "He's a big boy, he can do what he wants with whoever he wants." He reached over and grabbed a bowl of chips sitting next to him.

"But he lied to you. Doesn't that piss you off? He's your goddamn brother! Don’t you care that he took off with some random dude?" Dean exclaimed then stared at his open can, wanting to crush it beneath his fingers; but he wouldn't waste precious beer like that.

"Family lies to each other, it's what makes them family," Gabe said half-jokingly through a mouthful of chips. “You leave parties with random people all the time,” he pointed out Dean’s hypocrisy. 

"No, they don't. And neither do friends," Dean said and sipped his drink.

"If Cassie had wanted to tell us something, then he would have. You need to chill out, we're at a party. Untwist your panties and have fun, I know Cas sure is," Gabriel said before hopping off the counter and clapping Dean on the back.

Dean’s initial anger fueled by alcohol and memories of his father’s laundry list of lies began to subside, giving him a moment of clarity, and he asked “Is Cas gay?”.

Gabriel froze as he was on his way out of the kitchen, then turned to Dean and said, “That’s his business,” Before he walked away back into the crowded living space.

Dean’s head was fuzzy, this was all too much information to take in at once. He came here to have a good time, not spend it in a strangers kitchen having an internal crisis over-analyzing everything. _'Fuck it, he's right. Forget it, fuck Cas.'_ Dean thought before he chugged the rest of his beer and belched before crushing the can in his palm and tossing it to the floor. 

After Dean consumed three more beers he was feeling unstoppable, invincible. Dean Winchester could do whatever the fuck he wanted. And he knew exactly what he wanted.

Lily and Hope were now dancing, the liquor was flowing and they just wanted to let loose. Lily and Hope were facing each other, Lily's hands around her roommate's neck when she felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her midriff. She dropped her hands from Hope's neck and stopped swaying to turn around and see who thought they could dance with her. When she turned around and was face to face with Dean's eyes she relaxed.

"You scared me," she said as his arms slid lower down her back.

"I'm sorry, baby. Forgive me," he said sweetly, paired with his famous smile.

"You'll probably have to make it up to me," she smirked and wrapped her arms around his back.

"I most definitely will," he smirked in response before lowering his head to capture her lips with his.

_'Fuck it, forget Cas'_ Dean kept repeating in his head.


	11. 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ***Trigger warning: mentions of sexual abuse

Castiel left his meeting with Dr. Alastair and while the meeting went well, Castiel couldn't shake the unnerving feeling of being watched. As he exited the building he turned back to look behind him, of course no one was doing anything out of the ordinary (and no one was watching him), but he still hurried away to his required science class.

At dinner that evening Gabriel asked his brother, "How'd your meeting go? Classes all picked out?"

 

"You met with Dr. Alastair?" Dean asked, dropping his fork onto his plate with a clatter.

 

"Yes, he is my academic adviser, I needed to-"

 

"I can't believe you met with him! I told you to switch advisers!" Dean said angrily, his shoulders hunching slightly.

 

"I'm not switching advisers just because you don't like a professor!" Castiel exclaimed, annoyed Dean was still trying to tell him what to do. 

 

"Un-fuckin-believable," Dean said, getting up from the table, leaving behind his half eaten plate of ravioli, and storming off.

 

"His time of the month?" Jo snorted, watching her friend storm out of the dining hall.

 

"Guess so," Gabe muttered with a shrug before taking a large bite of his sandwich.

 

"Why is he so adamant I switch?" Castiel said, confused by Dean's strange reaction.

 

"Would you quit buggin' me about it? I don't know!" Gabe said, thoroughly annoyed that his little brother was too awkward to just ask Dean about it. He wasn't here to do everything for his brother, he needed to finally learn to do things for himself after constantly being babied by their family.

 

"If I knew, I'd tell ya," Jo said, giving Cas a small smile.

 

"I suppose I should go talk to him," Cas sighed, pushing his green beans around on his plate before he gathered the strength a few moments later to get up and pursue Dean.

 

Even though Dean was only a couple minutes ahead of Cas, he was nowhere to be found outside. Castiel figured he was most likely back at his room so that was where he headed. He discovered he was correct in his assumption as soon as he stepped off the elevator onto Dean and Gabe's floor- ACDC was blasting from down the hall. The music got louder as Castiel walked down the hallway, his heart thumping with anticipation. Cas stopped in front of the door and slammed his fist on it, hoping his knock was loud enough to be heard over the music. He waited for a minute and received no answer, so he decided to open the door and saw Dean laying on his back, tossing a hacky-sack in the air. Castiel slammed the door shut, earning Dean's attention.

 

"Jesus, Cas," Dean exclaimed, barely audible over the music. 

 

“Please do not use our Lord’s name in vain,” Castiel approached the cassette player and turned it off. "What's your problem, Dean?" 

 

"Cas, you cannot keep him, you should drop his class too," Dean said sternly, sitting upright.

 

"No," Castiel said simply.

 

"Cas, you need to. Trust me. Alastair is a bad person, you can't be around him. Especially alone with him," Dean said quietly.

 

"Well I need a reason to drop him," Castiel said, trying to go along with what Dean was saying, hoping he would give him some answers.

 

Dean sighed loudly and ran his fingers through his hair, clearly very uncomfortable. After a moment of silence he said, "I had to take psych 101, and I was failing, I wasn't really into it. So he told me we could work something out to get my grade up. I figured you know, extra credit or something, sure. But that wasn't what he had in mind."

 

Castiel just stared at Dean with his head tilted slightly, a quirk Dean noticed he did when he didn't understand something. "Do I really have to spell it out for ya, Cas?"

 

"He didn't mean extra credit?" He asked.

 

"Yeah, he," Dean sighed loudly and his hands balled up into fists, "he told me I had to fuck him for the grade or he would tell administration I propositioned him."

 

Castiel's eyes went wide, shocked, his mouth dropped open, he didn't have any words.

 

Dean averted his eyes, looking at the floor, ashamed. This was something he wanted to keep secret until the day he died, he promised himself we would never tell another soul. But he had to tell Cas- he had to warn him. "Cas, please. I won't let him hurt you."

 

Castiel swallowed, wanting to ask Dean what happened next but he already knew the answer. Castiel reached out to place a supportive hand on Dean's knee, "I understand. Dean, I'm so sorry-"

 

Dean flinched, "I don't want your pity, Cas."

 

"I don't pity you, I'm genuinely sorry that happened to you," Castiel said, his blue eyes meeting Dean's, making Dean feel even more vulnerable. “You didn’t deserve it.”

 

"Thanks, Cas," he said.

The two boys sat in silence for a while, neither really sure of what to say next. Their silence was interrupted by Gabriel entering the room. He stopped and looked at the two on Dean's bed briefly, then sat down at his desk and started rifling through his stack of papers. 

Castiel stared into Dean's green eyes, he wanted more than anything to pull him in close and tell him it was okay, that it wasn't his fault. But he didn't. Dean looked at him with eyes pleading not to ever speak of this again, and Castiel made a silent pledge to do just that.

“I should go,” Castiel said quietly before standing up and smoothing out his jeans. Dean only nodded. As Castiel crossed the room and opened the door his brother called out, “See ya, Cassie.” He didn't even have the energy to correct Gabriel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone sorry for the wait for the update, I've been sick and haven't had the motivation to write. Hopefully I will have more time this week. Thanks for reading!


	12. 12

#### On a Thursday 7:21PM

Castiel adjusted his backpack and locked his door, heading out to the library for an evening study session before bed. As he walked down the hall the smell of pot got stronger and stronger. A door opened and closed quickly, Andy blinked his eyes a few times, the fluorescent hallway lighting was much brighter lighting in the room he just exited. 

“Andy?” Castiel asked as he got closer, realizing the strong smell came from the room Andy emerged from.

“Hey! Uh, Casteel, right?” He asked, accidentally mispronouncing Castiel’s name.

“Castiel,” he corrected Andy politely. 

“My bad, sorry,” Andy said as he ran his hands through his hair.

“Happens all the time,” Castiel said. The two started walking in the direction of the elevator. “I didn't know we lived in the same floor.” 

“We don't,” after a moment Andy realized that must have sounded rude, then said, “my friend does. I commute. You’ve probably seen my van in the parking lot,” Andy laughed.

Castiel tilted his head and thought for a moment while he pressed the button on the elevator, “The one with polar bears?”

Andy laughed loudly, “That's the one.” 

“Yes I've seen it around,” Castiel chuckled, thinking about how Gabriel points it out every time they see it. “You can't miss it.”

#### Saturday 10:12 PM

Gabriel cupped a hand around the end of his cigarette to block the wind while he lit it before he stopped in his tracks. “Guys! It's the van!” He exclaimed with an exhale of smoke. Andy's van was parked on the side of the road adjacent to the street they were walking down.

Dean scoffed, “Shut up about that stupid van.”

“I met its owner,” Castiel said with a goofy smile, knowing Gabriel would appreciate it.

“You met van guy? And you didn’t tell us?” Dean stopped walking and turned to Castiel.

“What’s he like? Is he a fuckin’ weirdo?” 

Castiel laughed, “No he seemed alright. Though he smokes quite a bit,” he said, shrugging. 

Dean cackled, swearing at Castiel for not telling them sooner. 

“I will introduce you.” 

“You’re buddies?” Gabe asked, eyebrows raised. 

“I wouldn’t say we’re friends, we’ve smoked a couple times together that’s all. Actually, Dean, I think you met him at Hope's party. Remember Andy?”

"Andy! Andy is van guy?" Dean exclaims, shocked that a guy seemingly as cool as Andy drives such a lame van.

"Who's Andy?"

"We met him at that party Benny invited us to, you'd have met him but you were chasing after Hope all night."

"Huh, getting laid or hanging out with a dude who owns a van," Gabe held his hands in the air as if he were balancing a scale.

"He's very nice, Gabriel, you would like him," Castiel said.

"He's right, Andy's a cool dude. With a lame van," Dean sighed when he said 'lame van'.

"I still want to meet him," Gabe said with a grin. "I mean look at that thing!"

#### On a Tuesday 07:49 PM

Dean tossed his backpack onto the floor of his room, startling Gabe out of his geology homework. He flipped onto his bed and sighed loudly, running his hands over his face- Dean had just spent the last 3 hours going over the outline on his midterm literature paper and when he shut his eyes he saw lined paper in the darkness.

“Ash called,” Gabriel said, turning around in his chair to face his roommate. 

“He leave his number?” Dean asked, he had Ellen and Bobby's phone number memorized, but he had no idea even what dorm Ash was living in at MIT. 

“No.” 

Dean sighed, “I'll call Ellen I guess,” he said as he sat back up and grabbed the phone off his desk.

Bobby answered the phone with a more grumpy than usual, “Yeah?” 

“Bobby, it's Dean. Ash called but forgot to leave his number.” 

He heard Bobby mutter an, “It’s for you, idjit.” 

Dean scrunched his face in confusion, wondering why would Ash be at home in Kansas on a Tuesday night, and not at MIT. 

“Yellow?” Ash said. 

“What the hell are you doin’ home at this hour? You Ivy league assholes get a pre-Halloween break?” 

Ash laughed loudly, “Dean!” 

Dean could hear Bobby swearing in the background. “Bobby's pleasant tonight.” 

“That's uh, actually why I called,” Ash said apprehensively. “I got kicked out of MIT.”

“You what?” Dean exclaimed. “What the hell did you do?” 

“Fighting. You know, had a few too many brewskis and this guy was gettin' on my nerves,” Ash trailed off. 

“Dude!” Dean exclaimed. “MI- freakin’-T.” 

“I know, I know. I don't need it from you too.” 

“Ellen and Bobby must be so proud.” 

“Been working at the Roadhouse doing book keeping and whatnot until I figure out what to do next.” 

“Ellen made you her bitch, huh?” 

“Yup, maybe I'll enroll in UKan next year, I dunno.” 

“Well you should come by for the weekend. sometime”

“I think I just may take you up on that- shit I gotta go, later dude!” Ash hung up before Dean was able to say bye. Dean hung up the phone shaking his head. 

“Dude, Ash is going to come by for a weekend,” Dean laughed with a grin on his face, “it's going to be nuts.”


	13. 13

#### The Friday before Halloween

It had been two months since Gabriel first introduced his brother to Dean, and in those two months Dean and Castiel were consistently eye-fucking each other every chance they got, regardless who they were with. Gabriel had had enough of the not-so-secret glances and affectionate touches; Dean and Castiel clearly didn’t care that they made everyone else uncomfortable around the sexual tension. It was time something was done about their obvious feelings about each other, but Gabriel knew they were both so stubborn it would never happen without a little push. However, there was no way he could accomplish this on his own.

They had finally managed to convince Charlie to go to a frat party, and just in time for Halloween- every college student's favorite holiday. With Charlie now on board to go to the frat house, Gabriel knew there was no way Castiel would turn it down- despite him never being a big fan of the holiday. 

“Any luck?” Gabriel asked his brother, who was roaming around the costume store wide eyed.

“I'm not sure, I don't really know what I want to be,” Castiel said as he admired a costume at random. 

“How about this?” Gabe asked, holding up a woman's sailor costume that left little to the imagination.

Castiel rolled his eyes and continued to shop, ignoring his brother. They roamed in silence for another few minutes before Gabe called out, “What about this one?” 

Castiel didn't even look at the costume, he just said, “No, Gabriel,” assuming it was another revealing woman's costume. 

“I'm serious, look,” he said, practically shoving the costume into his brothers arms, suggestively raising his eyebrows. 

“Oh!” Castiel said, pleasantly surprised. “i actually like that one!” He exclaimed with a smile, snatching it out of his brothers hands. 

_‘Bingo,’_ Gabriel thought.

On Halloween night the five friends made the very cold walk to the frat house, but they were certainly not alone in doing so. When they arrived the front porch was packed full of people drinking and freezing their asses off, and the inside was the same. There was barely any room to move around, this had to easily be one of the biggest parties the house had thrown. 

If it wasn't for the shots of tequila Castiel took beforehand he would have been incredibly anxious and uncomfortable with a crowd this size, but he felt weightless and carefree with a grin plastered to his face. Charlie looked surprised at the crowd, they told her it would be packed there, but none of them could have prepared her for this level of craziness. 

“It's not usually this crazy, I swear!” Dean shouted to her over the music, feeling bad they dragged her out to her first frat party on the busiest night of the year.

Gabriel was immediately nowhere to be found in the sea of people (as usual), most likely already chasing after whichever girl was in the skimpiest costume. Jo took a long sip from the flask stashed in the elastic band around her thigh, meant for holding a fake gun to go with her cop outfit. Charlie leaned in close to Jo to say something in her ear, Dean picked up on the words 'plan’ and 'alone’ and was going to ask what their plan was but before he could the cop and Charlie; in a star trek dress; sneaked off into the crowd. 

“Here!” Dean said to Cas, handing him a bottle of spiced rum he had just pulled out of his backpack that most definitely clashed with his gladiator costume. He briefly wished he was a pirate. 

Castiel unscrewed the cap and took a small sip before passing it back to Dean. As Dean went to reach for it he immediately drew his arm back when two guys in banana costumes passed between them. When the bananas disappeared Castiel closed the space between them out of fear of pushed apart again and being left alone in the crowd. Castiel stood only inches away from Dean, his eyes level with Dean's lips. The bottle was still held in his hands, wedged in between their stomachs. He was unable to pull his eyes away from Dean's lips, pink and plump with a light sheen of rum. It was the first time all night Castiel looked somewhere other than Dean’s bare chest, barely covered thanks to a small piece of plastic acting as armor. Dean's green eyes lowered to Castiel's, when he noticed the younger boy was starting at his lips he poked out his tongue ever so slightly. Partly to dampen the chapped skin but mostly to taunt Cas; he didn’t plan to do it- the tequila and rum were running the show now. He watched Castiel's eyes widen and then flicker up to catch Dean's eyes. 

Suddenly their moment was interrupted by the silence of the music shutting off and then shouting. A man called out, “Hey party people!” 

The party goers cheered in response, Castiel turned around to see what was going on. On top of a table stood one of the frat brothers, most likely the eldest. He shouted, “Happy Halloween bitches!” Which earned another loud chorus of cheers, including one from Dean.

“Alright, alright,” he coaxed everyone to calm down (or at least quiet down). “Tonight we're doing something different in honor of the occasion.” 

Many people started murmuring in the crowd, sounding displeased. 

“We're still doing the midnight streak-” He wasn't able to finish his sentence because he was cut off by excited roaring. After a few seconds it quieted down again and he was able to continue speaking. “but this year we're also doing a costume contest with a very special prize. So if you showed up to a Halloween party without a costume you’re shit outta luck- 'cause the prize for the best dressed guy and girl is free admission to all parties for the rest of the year!”

The party goers cheered, thrilled to think they might be able to get out of paying the five dollar admission the frat charges to attend their parties. Last year Dean learned very quickly not to complain about it when Michael asked Dean how else could they pay for kegs every weekend. Then he proudly showed Dean the brand new stereo that was also purchased thanks to the admission fee. The frat brother jumped off the table and suddenly TLC’s No Scrubs continued playing where it left off- apparently his announcement was finished.

“Hey, you might have a chance at that prize,” Dean said to Castiel, leaning in to his ear while obviously looking up and down Cas's body to check out his firefighter costume that consisted of pants with suspenders over a tight white tank top.

Castiel blushed profusely, “No, I think you may,” he said before running his hand down the plastic armor; giggling from the alcohol.

“Don’t laugh, these abs are one hundred percent real,” Dean said before taking another swig.

Gabriel stood watching his little brother from afar with one of his frat brothers, Ryan. “He just felt up Dean’s fake abs,” Gabriel said to Ryan with a loud laugh.

“They’re definitely gonna bang tonight,” Ryan said, nodding his head after he filled his cup from the keg.

Since Charlie had never been to the house before, Jo took it upon herself to buddy up with her for the night, not wanting her to get lost; or worse, get stuck talking to a frat brother. After at least ten minutes of being forced into talking with the sorority girls again, Jo made the excuse of wanting to smoke to get away from them. The sorority girls let her go, and when Jo and Charlie got outside Charlie said, “I didn’t know you smoked.”

“I don’t,” Jo said as she leaned against the wood paneling of the house and ran her hands through her hair. “I can’t stand those girls.”

Charlie had only known Jo maybe a month, but she could understand why she wouldn’t want to befriend those girls; they followed the frat boys around like puppies competing for their affection, and as soon as one appeared their voices seemed to raise in pitch. Charlie just nodded in response while Jo pulled out her flask and took another sip. 

“D’you want some?” Jo asked, holding the flask and shaking it gently.

“I don’t drink,” Charlie said simply, when she was really thinking that she doesn’t drink cheap whiskey.

Jo shrugged and took another sip, then wiped her mouth. “Are you having any fun? I know it’s crazy here tonight.”

“I’m having fun,” Charlie grinned. “And even more fun playing matchmaker,” she laughed, happy to be pushing Dean and Castiel closer together.

“I never thought I’d see the day Dean Winchester shows feeling towards another human being,” Jo snorted.

“How come?”

“Well,” Jo started and took a sip to prepare herself to tell this story; over a year later and she was still bitter about it. “When we were in high school Dean was obsessed with this girl Lisa. She was the girls soccer captain, Dean even joined the soccer team so he could be around her more- he _sucked_ ,” Jo rolled her eyes, “Anyway, he was madly in love with her. After almost three years of flirting and chasing after her, she finally agreed to go on a date with him and they were inseparable since. Cutest couple in the yearbook, homecoming, prom king and queen, all that crap,” Jo said with a sour face. “Well right after graduation at a party he caught her in bed with his friend from soccer Victor. Apparently her and Victor had been sleeping together almost the whole time Dean and her were together,” she shook her head, “It really killed Dean, he hasn’t been the same since.”

While Jo was telling Charlie this, Dean and Castiel continued passing the bottle of rum between them, it was halfway gone, and had no hopes of lasting much longer. The music seemed louder than before, the bass vibrating both their bodies as they started dancing a little. Dean doesn’t dance, or at least he didn’t- but now with Cas in front of him and the warmth of the liquor, his body told him differently. 

Someone passed very closely behind Castiel, forcing him to inch closer to Dean, but after the person passed, Cas stayed where he was. His chest nearly touching Dean’s armor- they were intimately close, not like any closeness he had experienced before. Castiel was close with Crowley, sure, when they were kissing and their bodies fused together with Crowley inside him, but that was not intimate, it was purely sex. Balthazar and Castiel were close, but they were 16 when they first got together, 16 year olds don't about intimacy- it was about their first physical relations with another person, desperate and needy. Castiel had never felt real intimacy before, not like this. 

“I don’t get how people can cheat,” Charlie said, feeling bad for judging Dean for his tough and rugged exterior.

“And then Cas came along,” Jo said, taking another sip to warm herself even more. She couldn’t quite feel her exposed legs, but her fingers were cold. “I think he’s softening him,” she laughed. “He’s a different person with him, more like he was before Lisa.”

From across the room, Gabriel saw his brother inch closer to Dean. _‘Show time’_ he thought before pushing through the crowd to them. Dean inched away form Castiel as much as he could (which was not much) when he saw Gabe approaching them. 

“I’m not coming back tonight, make sure he gets home, okay?” Gabriel exclaimed over the music, leaning in close to Castiel to talk to Dean over the music, Castiel was too tipsy from the rum and drunk on dancing with Dean to care his brother was still treating him like a child and had to arrange for him to be escorted home.

Dean gave a thumbs up in response, Cas also doing the same. Gabriel disappeared back into the crowd again and when Dean thought they were out of his line of sight, he might have inched closer to Castiel once again.

“Operation Get-The-Stubborn-Idiots-Together is a go,” Gabriel said after he stepped outside where Jo and Charlie were still talking.

“Guess that’s our cue,” Charlie announced to Jo after Gabe went back inside to find Ryan, who agreed to let Gabe crash in his room upstairs for the night, because there was no way in hell Gabriel was telling Mike about his plan to set up their baby brother and Dean. Michael had always picked on Castiel, called him a fag due to his lack of interest in girls. There was no way Gabriel would let his older brother ruin this for Castiel, he needed something good after the past six months he had.

After waiting a few minutes so as not to raise suspicion, Jo and Charlie re-entered the party and went in search of Dean and Castiel. When they found the two, they were once again dancing closer than necessary, by now most of the bottle was gone and they didn’t care to separate when Jo and Charlie came over.

“Hey!” Jo called over the music, standing close to Dean so he could hear her. “We’re getting outta here! Not quite Charlie’s scene.”

“You wanna go too?” Dean asked Castiel, all their friends were leaving and Dean was pretty sure Castiel would prefer to hang out somewhere else a bit more quiet.

Castiel just nodded his head before Dean wrapped his hand around his arm and started pulling him out of the crowd. When they got outside they each took a deep breath, happy to breathe in fresh air instead of the stagnant, humid air inside the house. Jo and Charlie were already long gone, but they didn’t seem to notice. The two started walking back to campus, occasionally bumping into each other, walking crooked from the rum that was now stashed in Dean’s backpack once again. 

“D’you want to watch scary movies or somethin’?” Dean asked.

“Or somethin’,” Castiel responded before giggling. 

“Or somethin’ it is!” Dean announced, slinging an arm around Castiel’s shoulder.

On their walk back to campus Castiel started humming a tune, which Dean recognized instantly and began singing along to. Castiel draped his arm around Dean not only to help hold himself up, but to get closer to his friend as he hummed and Dean sang drunkenly.

“We should do late night!” Dean exclaimed, excited at the thought of a grilled cheese and a milkshake.

“I ‘ate to burst your bubble, but I doubt they’re open,” Castiel said, slurring.

“It’s past midnight already?”

“I dunno,” Castiel laughed. “What time is it?”

“I dunno, Cas,” Dean said, imitating his drunk friend, who didn’t notice. “Did they do the streak?” 

They heard whooping and hollering behind them, as if on cue, and Castiel turned around before starting to giggle uncontrollably. 

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Dean said, turned around as well and seeing at least five nude men running through the streets. “Late night’s out of the question, then.”

They made it to the outskirts of campus, and saw a flock of people walking in the opposite direction, on their way out. “Shit,” Cas mumbled as they approached Dean’s building, he was patting his pockets.

“What?” Dean asked.

“My keys’re gone,” Castiel patted his behind to no avail. 

“You can crash with me t’night, no biggie,” Dean shrugged before pulling open the door to his dorm.

“Thanks,” Castiel said, putting on his best sober face as they entered the building and had to face the security desk.

When they got to the elevator Dean let out a loud laugh when Castiel dropped his serious, sober facade. At Dean’s door Castiel leaned against the wall, his goofy drunk smile staring at Dean, who grinned as he unlocked the door. Dean flicked on the lights and let Cas inside, who stood staring at Dean, waiting for him to lead. When Dean kicked his shoes off, Castiel followed. Dean pulled off the plastic abdominal piece and flung it in the direction of his closet, Castiel shimmied out of the suspenders and let them hang at his side.

Dean walked over to his desk and pulled open the bottom drawer, it was, unsurprisingly, not full of school supplies like it was intended for. Instead the drawer was full of food. He pulled out a bag of cheese puffs and flopped down onto his bed, then sitting up right so there was room for Cas to sit next to him. Cas sat down on the bed, closer than necessary, their bare shoulders brushing and Dean held out the bag to Cas. 

The two sat snacking in silence until the bag was gone. Dean looked into the empty bag then up at Cas, who was now slowly licking the cheese dust off his fingers, he sucked on his index finger and released it with a pop. Dean stared at the cheese on his fingers, and opened his mouth with the desire to ask Cas to lick it off for him. But he didn’t. Instead he asked, “Cas, are you gay?”

Castiel stopped licking his fingers and stared at the older boy. “Why?”

“I uh, well at Hope’s party you left with a guy. Said he was in class with you,” Castiel continued staring at him, “But Hope said he doesn’t go to school.”

“Oh.”

“I don’t care if you’re gay, ya know, I just,” Dean went to rub his cheek but stopped when he remembered the cheese dust on his fingers. “You didn’t need to lie. Or at least, you shouldn’t have to feel like you need to,” Dean shrugged.

“Yes. I’m gay.”

“Cool,” Dean nodded. “Cool.”

At this moment Dean Winchester realized that maybe it wasn’t such a long shot, and that maybe, he would get a chance with Castiel.

“I hope that doesn’t change our friendship. Because I quite like being your friend,” Castiel added.

“Absolutely not, Cas. Promise,” Dean said before finally licking his fingers clean. As much as Dean thought Cas was hot, and was more than tempted to kiss him on a number of occasions Cas was right. He liked being Dean's friend, and Dean really enjoyed being his friend too. 

“Good,” Castiel said, relieved that Dean would not abandon him after hearing this, unlike some of his so called friends from high school. 

When Gabriel returned in the morning there was no sock on the door, but he was pleased to see Dean and Castiel had apparently fallen asleep in Dean’s bed, both still somewhat clad in their costumes- only from the waist down. He shut the door a little louder than normal on purpose, waking his brother out of his light sleep.

Castiel darted up when he saw his brother, his hand promptly going to the back of his neck to attempt to rub out the knot that had formed from sleeping sitting upright.

“You and Dean have fun?” Gabriel wiggled his eyebrows at his younger brother.

“I’m too hungover to acknowledge that,” Castiel groaned, rubbing his palm into his eye before pulling Dean’s legs off of his. “I seemed to have misplaced my keys.”

“These ones?” Castiel’s attention snapped to his brother, who was jangling a set of keys, then tossed it to his very hungover brother, who didn’t question why he had them. He just gathered his things and left quietly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got some inspiration from American Pie the Naked Mile on this one- I just had to make some ridiculous Halloween tradition.


	14. 14

#### On a Tuesday 6:10 PM

Castiel was suspicious- very suspicious of Gabriel. Gabriel had always been a fan of pranks, he was the family trickster after all. First, Gabriel somehow had his keys Halloween night. Castiel still had no idea how that happened, he certainly didn't drop or misplace them. Now, Gabriel, on a number of occasions, would leave the room as soon as Castiel arrived, leaving him and Dean alone. Regardless if he invited Castiel there or not, he would just take off for a while. 

“Has my brother been acting,” he paused as he turned to Dean, “odd to you?” 

“Gabriel? Odd? Only literally all the time,” Dean snorted, scribbling something in his notebook.

“No, I mean. Different than usual,” Castiel said slowly and narrowed his eyes.

Dean shrugged, trying to pay attention to his notes. Today Gabriel asked Castiel to meet at his room before they went to dinner, then he said he had to go see Chuck as soon as Cas showed up. That was almost twenty minutes ago, and Castiel was very suspicious.

“It appears that he keeps trying to get us alone.”

“Why do you say that?” 

Before Castiel could answer, the door swung open, Gabriel was now ready for dinner. “Come on, ladies.”

Dean shrugged, un-phased, he was too hungry to contemplate Gabriel's motives. 

**

Gabriel and Dean stood outside Jo’s door, pounding on it repeatedly. “Jo,” Dean called, drawing out the 'o’.

“Jo open up!” Gabriel begged, pounding his fist on the door with less effort, he was starting to lose interest in finding Jo.

The door swung open, revealing not Jo, but a very pissed off Bela. “What the hell do you jackasses want?” 

“Is Jo here?” Dean asked, trying to look around the thin brunette into her room.

“If she was here don't you think she would have answered the door?” Bela questioned, extremely annoyed they interrupted her painting. 

Dean and Gabriel turned to look at each other briefly before they shrugged. “Maybe,” Gabriel said weakly, causing Bella’s face to pinch up even more. “But I sure am glad it was you,” he offered with a wink after he had sized up her nearly see through tank top and booty shorts. Gabriel raised his video camera to capture a shot of the very angry, but very hot woman. 

Bela didn't bother to respond to Gabriel's advances, she just pushed his camera down and slammed the door in their faces. 

“Guess we will have to do this without her,” Dean shrugged before Gabe cackled loudly and the two took off. “Man, this is a tradition or something,” he said a few minutes later as he admired his handful of name tags they had ripped from people's doors.

Gabriel turned his camera around so he was peering into it, “Or something,” he laughed into his camera. 

While Dean and Gabriel were occupied stealing peoples name tags ( _"For decoration,"_ Dean insisted when a young girl asked why he had the name tags), Charlie and Castiel sat on the plush rug in Charlie’s room, a bowl of popcorn between them and Star Wars playing on her small television. They were only half watching it, Charlie had begged Castiel to tell him what happened after the Halloween party, despite him repeatedly telling her nothing happened.

“I came out to him, but _nothing happened_ ,” Castiel said, emphasizing the last two words. 

“You came out to him?” Charlie said excitedly.

“Yes, it felt like such a relief," he paused before asking "Why are you so convinced something happened?” as he tossed a few pieces of popcorn in his hand.

“No reason,” she said quickly, but Castiel was not quite convinced.

“Gabriel has been acting odd lately.”

“How so?”

“I might be overthinking it but I think he is purposely trying to get Dean and I alone.”

“Hm,” Charlie hummed, turning her attention back to the movie, blatantly ignoring her friend.

“What do you know that I do not?” 

“Nothing,” she said defensively.

Castiel narrowed his eyes at Charlie, she was typically an open book and as soon as he changed the subject to focus on Gabriel's strange behavior Charlie was not so keen to talk. There was definitely something suspicious going on. 

Jo returned to her room later than usual, the Roadhouse was especially packed this Saturday night, and it felt as if she was the only waitress in the whole restaurant. Bela was drawing with her pencils at her desk, her hair thrown into a messy but still elegant bun. 

As Jo began to get ready for bed Bela said, “Your friends are idiots.” 

“What did Gabriel do this time?” 

“They were taking name tags off people's doors. I don't understand why, but they thought it was hilarious.” 

“Yeah they do dumb shit sometimes.”

“You shouldn't spend so much time around such children.” 

Jo laughed, agreeing that they could be childish in their antics, but that was one of the reasons she enjoyed hanging out with them. There was never a dull moment with Gabriel and Dean.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is a bit of a filler chapter, the next one will have a special guest appearance!


	15. 15

Dean was practically buzzing with excitement over Ash coming to spend the weekend at his dorm. The two were just about inseparable in high school, constantly ditching class and hanging out in the old tree house at the Winchester’s. He couldn't wait for Ash to meet Gabe, he knew the two would hit it off and they would have a crazy weekend. Crazy would be an understatement.

Luckily Dean managed to find someone to cover his Friday night shift and spent all day doing homework to ensure he could be free all weekend. The commuter parking lots emptied within a few minutes of the last day class’ release, freeing up plenty of spaces for guest's cars for the weekend. Ash said he would be there at five, and Dean was sitting on the grass waiting at 4:45 despite his friend being chronically late. 

“Waiting for your girlfriend?” Jo asked, sitting on the grass beside Dean. 

Dean shoved Jo's shoulder and rolled his eyes, he had heard plenty of those jokes in high school. His cheeks flushed slightly-still unsure if Jo knew about the sloppy make out session he had with her step brother. 

Soon enough, Dean heard Lynyrd Skynyrd blasting from the parking lot, signaling Ash's arrival. 

“What's up suckas!” Ash shouted as he got out of his beat up car, he dragged on a backpack and hurried over to Dean. 

“What’s up man!” Dean exclaimed, giving his friend a big hug, clapping him on the back. 

“Hey, sis,” Ash said before slinging an arm around Jo’s shoulders, knocking their heads together. Jo pulled away and punched him in the shoulder.

“Fucking idiot!” 

Ash winced, but didn’t object, he knew he would get berated from his sister as well as their parents for getting kicked out of MIT.

“What were you thinking?” Jo exclaimed as Dean started leading them back towards their building. 

“I wasn’t,” Ash said.

“No shit,” Jo said.

The three walked in silence back to the dorm until it was broken by Dean saying, “Man, I’m so happy you’re here. We used to sneak into frat parties when we were in high school, now we’re going with VIP status.”

“Hell yeah, remember when we got kicked out of a sorority during their fancy dinner,” Ash laughed. 

Dean laughed loudly, “I forgot about that.”

_Dean and Ash approached the house, six pack in hand, ready to hook up with hot sorority chicks. The house was much quieter than the frat house they had been to a couple times before. No one was outside smoking, rap wasn’t blasting, although, they could hear muffled music and saw shadows of people moving around through the curtains._

_“I don’t know man, doesn’t look like there’s a party,” Dean said warily._

_“Nah, these chicks are wild, we’re probably just a little early,” Ash assured him as they stepped up to the door._

_Dean shrugged, that seemed reasonable enough, and they let themselves into the house. The music was fairly quiet, and it was classical. He turned quizzically to his friend, who just made a similar face._

_“Chicks, man,” Ash said before walking out of the foyer and into one of the rooms, Dean followed closely, thinking that maybe they shouldn’t be there._

_“See, there they are,” Ash pointed to the glass french doors that led out of the living room. Through the slightly opaque curtains they could see the outlines of bodies, mostly standing around and talking, not so much dancing or doing keg stands. Ash pulled open the french doors and revealed the sisters all standing or sitting around a large dining table, ordained with a pristine white table cloth. The girls were all in long elegant dresses, most with their hair pinned up, and holding glasses of wine. One standing against the far wall noticed them._

_“Who are you?” She asked loudly, and all of the murmuring ceased, they turned to look at Dean and Ash standing in their doorway. Dean suddenly became aware of how they must have looked, both in jeans and T-shirts, holding a case of beer._

_“We’re here for the party,” Ash said grinning._

_“Who let you in?”_

_“What party?”_

_“This is a private event.”_

_The girls bombarded questions at them, “Uh, I don’t think we’re supposed to be here,” Dean said to his friend._

_“Get out!” The girls started yelling at them, they happily obliged and turned around to leave as fast as they could._

_One of the girls set down her wine glass and waved her hands at them, as if she was trying to herd them out of the house. She made sure they exited and slammed the front door behind them, locking it loudly._

_Dean and Ash stood outside the house, staring at each other in bewilderment before Ash laughed hysterically._

_“I told you it didn’t look right,” Dean glared at him as he walked away from the house, mortified at what just happened._

_Ash continued to laugh, “We crashed and were kicked out of a sorority party.”_

_Dean glared at his friend again, but by the time they made it back to the car a couple blocks away Dean was laughing so hard he was wiping tears from his eyes._

“That’s why I refuse to go to Alpha Chi,” Dean said to Jo, “They probably have my name and picture on a blacklist.”

“Now we have to go, I want to see you two get thrown out,” Jo said, laughing. 

They approached the dorm and went upstairs so Ash could put his things down before gathering Gabe and Cas for dinner. Gabe was sitting at his desk, fiddling with his camera when the three walked in. 

“This is the famous Ash, huh?” Gabe asked, looking up from his camera.

“Famous? Me?” Ash asked, looking at Dean.

“Don’t let it get to your head,” Dean scoffed. “Where Cas?” Dean asked casually.

“He’ll be here soon,” Gabe lifted the camera and pointed it at Dean. “Why are you so concerned with my brothers whereabouts?”

Dean stammered, “I’m hungry,” he flushed pink slightly and Gabe laughed, zooming in on Dean’s face, whose gaze refusing to meet his roommates. Gabe then set down the camera and continued with what he was doing before his friends entered the room.

Jo sat on Dean’s bed and began asking her brother about home, mostly what happened upon his arrival back to the midwest.

There was a knock on the door a few minutes later, Dean and Gabe both shouted, “It’s open!”

When Cas entered the room Dean said, “You know you don’t need to knock every time.”

“It’s polite,” Castiel responded before licking his lips, “I just wanted to make sure you were decent. Can we eat now?” He added quickly.

“Munchies kicking in, Cas?” Dean asked, earning a small smile from his friend.

At the dining hall Jo asked, “So what’s the plan?”

“Is Hope throwing another party?” Gabe asked.

“Don’t think so, haven’t heard from Benny.”

“Frat house, then?” Gabe asked. 

“Charlie and I are going to the movies,” Castiel said.

“What are you seeing?” Jo asked.

“The Green Mile, I believe,” Cas said after a moment of chewing.

“Can I come?” Jo asked. “I’m sick of going to the same party every weekend.”

“Of course, Charlie will be thrilled.”

“Sorry guys,” Jo said when Dean, Gabe, and Ash protested. “Have fun!” She said as she stood up, her and Cas had finished eating and were ready to meet Charlie.

After the two left, Ash took a long sip of his soda before he said, “I didn’t want to say anything in front of them, but I got us these,” Ash pulled out his wallet and slid a card across the table to Dean. 

Dean picked it up, it was a fake ID, “Dude! Awesome!” He inspected it, the ID said it was from Virginia, far enough away that a bartender wouldn’t likely be familiar with it, but was still believable he was in town for school.

“So I was thinking somethin' little different than a frat party,” Ash said, smirking.

The three guys played it cool as they walked into the pub just down the street from Campus Pizza. Gabe had been there before, he knew it was a smaller place without security, and they would be less likely to notice the fake IDs. They sat at a high top table and a waitress almost immediately came over and asked for IDs when they ordered a pitcher of beer.

Dean sighed, sipping his beer, “Ash, man, thanks again,” he raised his glass up to salute his friend. 

After a couple pitchers of beers Ash wanted to go out to smoke, Gabriel joining him. Dean promised to meet them outside after he used the bathroom. 

When Dean exited the bathroom he heard how awful the music playing was and decided to check out the old jukebox just a few feet away from the restrooms. They had to have some Led Zeppelin or at least ACDC. While he browsed through the album's he saw a blue and red reflection out of the corner of his eye, but ignored it and continued to browse. Dean settled on a song and began to make his way outside to meet his friends.

A few of the patrons were starting out the windows, the blue and red lights flashing brighter as Dean approached. “What's going on?” He asked, trying to look out the windows between two middle aged guys.

“Some kids getting arrested,” he said with a slight hint of amusement in his voice.

“Shit,” Dean said when he managed to get a good look out the window and saw Ash’s long hair ducking into the backseat of the police car. He moved away from the window and made his way to the door. 

When Dean pushed open the door and officer said to him, “Nothing to see here.” 

Dean stared at Ash with wide eyes, unable to move like a deer caught in the headlights. Ash made some kind of face at Dean, he couldn't figure out what it meant but it seemed like a cross between 'oh shit’ and 'rock on’. Everything seemed to move too fast for Dean to be able to process. _‘Gabe’_ Dean thought. _'Where the hell is Gabe?’_

His eyes scanned over to a second police car driving out of the parking lot, the dim lights in the lot made it so Dean just barely recognized his roommate sticking his tongue out at him through the window. Dean stood still, his hands locked behind his head, looking bewildered as the police car containing his roommate pulled away. 

Dean stood outside for another minute staring at the parking lot where his friends just were before the silence was interrupted by a waitress assuming he would be paying his friends tabs. He sighed loudly before going back into the bar to pay the tab, unsure what the hell he was going to do next. 

Thankfully they had walked to the pub, so Dean was able to get back to his dorm no problem, but the whole time kept wondering how Ash and Gabe would get out. He figured they wouldn't waste their only phone call and would call someone who could afford to meet their bail- because there was no way in hell Dean could. 

Dean must have eventually fallen asleep because he was woken up by the door slamming, he jumped at the sound and was happy to see Gabe and Ash's faces enter into the room. 

“What the hell happened to you guys?” Dean asked, yawning and sitting up slightly, his eye squinted from sleep. 

“You left us in the slammer,” Gabe said as he took off his shoes and jacket. 

“Drunk tank- wasn't so bad,” Ash said as if it was no big deal, like he's been arrested a hundred times before. 

“How'd you get out?” 

“No thanks to you,” Gabe said as he flopped onto his bed. 

“Gabe's brother was nice enough to bail us out-” 

“You called Cas?” Dean exclaimed, wiping the sleep out of his eyes.

“No we didn't call Cassie. Mike,” Gabe yawned. 

“Yeah speaking of him, how much to I owe you in bail?” Ash asked.

“None, first ones free. Courtesy of my deadbeat brother.”

Dean laughed, “I think Luke would be proud knowing his trust fund contributed to bailing you out of jail.” 

“You guys hungry?” Ash asked, running his stomach. 

“Dude it's,” Dean picked up his alarm clock, “Six thirty.” 

“What? They didn't feed us all night.”

Dean threw a pillow in Ash's general direction, but he did not protest, Ash just accepted the pillow, more than ready for some sleep.


	16. 16

Thanksgiving break was rapidly approaching, the stress of midterms was running high and it seemed all students were on edge. Dean and Gabe hadn't gone to a party since Halloween, and everyone seemed to need to blow off some steam. 

Castiel was more stressed than he had expected. All throughout high school he was a stellar student, but now in college even his AP courses seemed like child's play. Just about every one of his classes had papers due before Thanksgiving, and then final papers due only a couple weeks after that when the semester ended on top of exams. All semester he kept up with his studies, and was even ahead in a couple classes until all the deadlines came crashing down. Most of his spare time was spent in the library beside Garth or Charlie writing and writing and writing. On top of that he was sexually frustrated, he was checking Dean out every second he could. And he knew Dean was teasing him too.Gabriel kept leaving them alone as if he knew Castiel had the hots for his roommate and was pulling some cruel prank. Hell Castiel didn't even think Dean was into guys. He just couldn't do it anyone. Castiel needed a break. 

Gabriel impatiently waited for Castiel to show up so they could get dinner, but when seven rolled around and their wasn't any sign of him Gabe gave in and just went to the dining hall without his brother. He was probably eating dinner at the library again and just forgot to tell him. 

Friday afternoon Dean was not woken up by Castiel at lunch time as he usually was. Instead Dean slept until almost one when his phone rang, his boss asking him to come in a bit early. Dean didn’t even have time to think about where Cas was as he rushed into work.

“Cas has spent all week cooped up in the library, we've gotta get him out tonight. Have some fun,” Dean said when he got out of work that evening. 

Gabe informed him that Castiel had yet again stood them up for dinner. Dean would never admit to his roommate but he was starting to miss the guy, this was the longest the two had been apart since the semester first started. Castiel really took his studies seriously.

Gabriel, Jo, and Dean knocked on Castiel's door, unsure if he was there or still at the library. There was no answer so they decided to check the library. Unfortunately Castiel was not there either; not even in his secret hiding spot Charlie showed Jo; and the group was beginning to worry. 

“He probably had work or something,” Jo said, shrugging. Dean and Gabe accepted her answer but Dean didn't like it. This wasn't like Cas to disappear suddenly without any word. He was a tad angry, this was like John Winchester but not like Castiel. Something had to be up.

Jo found Charlie standing in the sandwich line during lunch on Saturday and encouraged her to join them. Dean took the opportunity to question her about Castiel's whereabouts. Charlie hadn't seen him since their study session Thursday and noted that he called out of work today.

Gabe was very worried, it wasn't like Castiel to fall off the grid like this. It was almost a last resort but he decided to call Mike on the off chance that he could have heard from him.

“Hey, is Cassie with you?” 

Mike laughed, “No, why would he be?” 

“He's been MIA for a couple days, I dunno, I was just wondering if he maybe was with you.” 

“You really think he’d come to the house for a weekend with his favorite brother?” Michael asked, then when Gabriel didn't answer he asked, “You're that desperate huh?” 

Gabriel sighed, “I'm just worried about him, he's been so stressed about school we thought he was hunkered down in the library but he's not there.” Before Mike could answer Gabe added, “Please don't tell Zach about this.”

“I'm sure he's fine, Castiel's a good kid. He's probably at a cafe hogging up an entire table, drinking all their espresso, and making the waitresses uncomfortable with his creepy stare.” 

Gabe laughed. 

“I won't tell Zach, but I'm not a fuckin babysitter,” Mike said before hanging up.

Gabe sighed, hoping that his brother was right. Unfortunately, he wasn't. 

Dean was livid, their delivery guy called out for the third shift in a row and once again Dean was stuck doing deliveries. On top of already having a shitty week doing piles of homework and worrying like crazy about Cas, now he had to do deliveries. He grabbed the pizza pouch and double checked the order with the receipt before hurrying out the door, knowing the second he got back he would just have to go out again. 

Dean approached the door to the apartment and knocked loudly, shifting impatiently as he waited for the door to be answered. It was swung open by a disheveled guy, his shirt inside out as if he just threw it on in a hurry, “What's the damage?” He asked in a British accent, huffing like he was out of breath.

He held the door open wider to fit the pizza box and Dean couldn't help but take a quick glance inside. Draped across a love seat was a shirtless man in nothing more than a pair of grey boxer briefs, his eyes barely open. Dean's eyes wandered away before darting back to the man on the chair, Dean recognized that dark messy bed head, it was Castiel. Castiel was in his underwear, his head tilted off to the side, his eyes glazed over, looking like absolute hell in this British man’s apartment.

“I said goodnight,” the man said before slamming the door shut, Dean pulled his fingers out of the way in time so they weren’t pinched. He stood staring at the door, unable to peel his eyes away, trying to will some sort of X-ray vision to look inside more. Cas was here, in his underwear on some guy’s couch, looking like he had been having a fuck-a-thon all friggin’ weekend while Dean and Gabriel were waiting up all night for him to come home like worried parents.

“Un-fuckin-believable,” Dean said angrily to himself, shaking his head as he hurried back to his car. Dean gripped the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white, he could not believe Cas would take off all weekend, making them worry sick, and he was just down the street from campus the entire time. Dean cared about Castiel, he couldn’t believe the utter disregard Castiel had. Not even bothering to tell them he was going to be gone all weekend. It hit Dean like a brick wall, he _cared_ about Castiel. He didn’t care about him like he cared about Gabriel, who drove him nuts by repeatedly pranking Dean but he knew he only did it to make Dean laugh. Nor did he care for him the way he does for Sammy, his best friend, the only person Dean would move heaven and hell for- but he would never care for anyone that much. He worried about where Cas was, if he was safe. Dean was as worried- no he was more worried about Castiel these past few days than he was after Lisa was out of school for almost two weeks when her grandfather was ill. He cared for Cas more than the way he cared about Lisa. Lisa who he chased after for years before she agreed to go out with him, the Lisa who Dean bought a stupid promise ring for because he was in love with her. 

Dean gulped loudly and closed his eyes, yup, he cared for Castiel. 

The rest of Dean’s shift was a complete blur, he couldn’t stop thinking about Cas. What the hell was he going to say to him, _‘Have a fun weekend? By the way I guarantee I’m a better lay than some overweight British lad’_. Nope, that wouldn’t cut it. Dean only drove past two customers houses while he was lost in his thoughts, but he figured it wasn’t too bad because suddenly he was standing outside his dorm room wondering how the hell he made it back. 

Gabriel must have gone to the frat house for the night because the room was dark and there was a low supply of beer in the mini fridge. Dean ran his hands through his hair and laid on his bed, when he closed his eyes he couldn’t get the image of Cas out of his head. Cas sprawled on that chair, shirtless, his gray boxers molded to his skin like they were painted on. If only he could make Cas look that wrecked. Dean couldn’t help but imagine what Cas would look like hard, the fabric of his boxers clinging to every inch of his thighs and outlining his cock. He imagined what it would be like to fuck Castiel so hard he couldn’t keep from dozing off afterwards. He imagined Cas’s full lips wet with saliva, moaning Dean’s name- that was enough to make Dean moan Castiel’s name into his pillow as he covered his chest in his own mess.

When the sun happened to shine right in Dean’s face and wake him, his roommate snoring away soundly across the room. Dean couldn’t fall back to sleep, thinking about Castiel had him tossing and turning into the late hours of the morning until Gabe yawned loudly and snapped Dean out of his thoughts.

“I saw Cas,” Dean said with a slight crack in his voice, and hoped Gabe was too sleepy to notice it.

“What? Where?” Gabe sat up quickly, then rubbed his aching head.

“Some apartment I delivered to. British guy answered the door.”

“British,” Gabriel said more than he asked.

“Yeah, short, chubby British guy,” Dean said with a grimace as he wondered what the hell Cas saw in him.

Gabriel didn’t answer, Dean looked over to his friend and saw him sitting there with his mouth open, looking like a fish.

“You know him?”

“Unfortunately.”

The two fell into an uncomfortable silence when Dean realized Gabe no longer wanted to talk about the strange British man. 

Castiel knocked on Dean and Gabriel’s door shortly before lunch started. Dean answered the door and let him in, avoiding his gaze.

“Hello Dean,” Castiel said.

Dean eyed him as he shut the door behind him. Cas had dark circles under his eyes, and his nose was red and raw. 

“Where the hell have you been?” Gabriel exclaimed despite knowing the answer.

“I was with a friend,” Castiel stiffened as his brother rose out of his bed.

“A friend? Really, since when is Crowley a friend?” Gabe asked.

Castiel shifted uncomfortable and his nose twitched, “How-”

“Dean delivered your fucking pizza last night!” Gabriel exclaimed.

Castiel looked confused for a moment before turning to look at Dean, who looked away from Cas to stare at the floor, he felt like a kid who was about to get in trouble for tattling.

“What were you and Crowley doing all weekend, huh?” Gabe crossed his arms.

Castiel didn’t answer.

"I can't believe you would do this shit, even after what's happened with Luke, and Ruby!” Gabriel said, louder.

"Don't you fucking dare!"

"What were you thinking? He made Luke an addict, he fucking killed his little sister!" Gabriel said.

Dean was extremely uncomfortable, if he had known this would involve Luke he may not have mentioned it to Gabe. Gabriel tried to brush off everything with Luke, but Dean knew him well enough to know that he cared a lot about what happened to the oldest twin. 

"He didn't force Luke to do anything, he was able to make his own decisions-"

"Oh, he gave him heroin, you know damn well Luke wouldn't be this way if it wasn't for fucking Crowley. And Ruby, think about her, where she would be right now. She'd be right here with you, studying biology, best goddamn friends for-”

“Don’t bring her into this!” Castiel exclaimed.

“Do you want to turn up like Luke, like Ruby?”

“It’s not the same-”

“Bullshit!” Gabriel almost laughed.

“I don’t need this,” Castiel said, tears welling in his eyes and his hand extended towards Gabriel, warning him from coming closer. He turned around and hurried out of the room, slamming the door behind him with so much force it shook the wall.

Gabriel stood there, arms crossed and huffed loudly. He turned to Dean and just shook his head. Dean didn’t know the whole story, but it definitely seemed like this Crowley was a shady character. Hell, anyone friends with Luke is bad news in Dean’s book.

“I’m sorry you had to see that,” Gabe said, sitting on the edge of his bed.

“It’s fine, I just,” he paused, “Wish I had done something when I saw them.”

Gabe shook his head again, “You had no way of knowing. I... I hope he doesn’t follow in Luke’s footsteps.”

Dean nodded, understanding completely. Gabriel wanted to protect his little brother, wanted him to make the right choices. Dean 100% understood. If Sam was hanging around with drug dealers Dean would kick his ass to last Tuesday.

Castiel started to gather up his shower supplies, feeling disgusting with himself, wanting to wash away the lingering smell of sex, BO and stale smoke when he roommate said, “Your friend was looking for you.”

“I know. My brother was worried.”

“Not your brother. The tall one, with the leather jacket. He asked if you were here and if he could wait until you got back. He sat outside the door for hours Friday night.”

“He did?” Castiel asked, turning to face his roommate, shampoo in hand.

“Yeah, you should let him know you’re back. I stepped on him Saturday morning, guess he fell asleep out there,” he chuckled.

Castiel stared at his shampoo bottle, wondering did he really worry Dean that much. Dean waited outside his room all night for him to come back while Castiel was snorting line after line of cocaine off Crowley’s coffee table. He was a shitty friend. A really shitty friend.

Castiel shook his head, ashamed with himself as he stared into the bathroom mirror. His red eyes stared back at him, dark circles sagged heavily, and his hair was matted to his head. Castiel looked like crap. He hadn't showered in three days, and had slept maybe only a couple hours here and there after his high wore off. His chest had crusty patches of semen. He nearly shuttered at his reflection, it hauntingly resembled Luke, he had to turn away and turn on the shower.

The last time he had seen Luke his eyes were sunken in, his skin more pale than usual, and he had just stolen from Zach for the last time. That would not be Castiel. He couldn't believe he let himself become that.

Castiel showered for much longer than usual, desperately scrubbing himself clean. Nothing like a late night shower to reevaluate your life. He promised himself not to let this happen again, he couldn't spend another dazed weekend in Crowley's apartment. He only realized he had been in the shower for too long when he suddenly realized the water was freezing cold. His sudden shivering snapped him out of his thoughts and he realized he had many assignments he had neglected over the weekend. 

Determined to get started on his homework, when Castiel returned to his room he discovered his roommate had decided to go to sleep. Castiel sighed and turned on his desk lamp for a minute, just until he gathered all his needed school supplies into his backpack. Upon exiting his room, Castiel realized he did not have the energy to walk all the way to the library and instead settled for the noisier lounge area right off the elevators. It was relatively busy in the lounge for a Sunday night, a small group was huddled in a semicircle of chairs talking about their weekend, and a couple girls sat at the largest table with books strewn all over. Cas settled into a chair in the corner, trying to get away from the noise as best as possible. With Thanksgiving looming over their heads, all students were working extra hard, probably trying to bring up their grades at the last minute. Thankfully Castiel wasn’t too concerned about his grades, he knew he was in good shape for finals. But he still struggled with the mandatory science lab course, biology was not his strong suit. 

The door to the staircase slammed shut, making Castiel jump at the loud metal clang. Castiel glanced in the direction of the noise, and surprisingly saw Dean standing a few feet in front of him.

“Hiya, Cas,” Dean said as he approached his friend.

“Dean?” Castiel said, confused why his friend was in his dorm. He slid a flash card into his textbook to mark his place and tilted his head, he opened his mouth to ask what he was doing there before Dean interrupted his thoughts.

“Can we talk?

“Dean, I’m so sorry for how Gabriel and I behaved in front of you earlier. It-”

“Cas, it’s fine. Trust me, you had nothin’ on a Monday night at the Winchesters,” Dean said with a small, sad chuckle. 

Castiel blinked at him and Dean could feel the blue eyes drilling into his head.

“It’s, uh, something else,” Dean licked his lips and looked around, suddenly aware of how many other people were in the lounge. “Listen, can we talk somewhere else?”

“My roommate is asleep.”

“Feel like going for a walk?” Dean asked, shrugging and pushing his lips together.

“That would be nice. Just let me put these back in my room,” Castiel said as he practically jumped out of his chair and gathered up his books.

The few minutes Castiel was gone felt like an eternity to Dean. He sat on the seat his friend was just in, his leg bounced nervously and he suddenly didn’t know what to do with his hands, so they fumbled in his lap nervously.

Castiel reappeared with that ridiculous trench coat, but it was pretty cold outside, so Dean silently excused it. Dean stood up, ready to lead the way to fresh air, because suddenly his cheeks were burning up and he felt his heart rate speed up. He couldn’t remember the last time he felt this nervous, giving Lisa a promise ring before graduation suddenly seemed as mundane as brushing his teeth.

They shoved open the door Dean entered from and followed it down to the ground floor. Castiel waved to the girl sitting at the front desk on their way out the door, while Dean hurried ahead of him, anxious to get outside and walk off some of this tension. A moment later Castiel met Deans pace and asked, “Anywhere in particular?”

“Yeah, actually. Follow me,” he now felt a sense of direction, he had a goal, some extra time to think.

Castiel realized that Dean clearly wanted to save the talking for when they arrived to their destination, so he followed Dean in silence. He pulled his trench coat closed when a breeze hit, and thought to himself that Dean’s leather jacket must be very warm. He imagined the leather was soft from years of use, the lining probably smelled like Dean, musky from a mixture of his cologne and Dean’s natural odor. 

He was snapped out of his thoughts when Dean said, “Careful, Cas.” Castiel looked away from Dean and saw that they were now standing on a natural path, about to step onto a wooden bridge.

“Is this safe?” Castiel asked wearily when Dean beckoned him onto the bridge. His eyes wandered to the planks, in the darkness he couldn’t tell if they were intact.

Dean huffed, “Yeah it’s safe, Cas. It’s part of the bike path.”

“Oh,” Castiel said, stepping forward onto the bridge, knowing the bike path was built a couple years ago, running through campus to the center of Lawrence. “It looks different at night.”

“Scared?” Dean asked. Castiel could see a small smirk playing on his lips, illuminated by street lights.

“No,” Castiel said with complete honesty, he knew Dean would never lead him into danger. 

“We’re almost there, I promise,” Dean continued over the small bridge, waiting for Cas on the other side. The two continued on the path, it followed along a pond, peaceful and silent under the moonlight.

“I didn’t know there was a pond near campus,” Castiel said, observing the water, barely paying attention to where he was walking.

“It’s peaceful isn’t it?”

“It’s lovely,” Castiel said, turning his attention back to the path after he tripped over a stray rock.

“Over here,” Dean led him off to the left, into a small clearing. “Careful,” he said as he veered off to the side where concrete blocks stuck out over the grass. He grabbed Castiel’s hand, assisting him in the small jump down to a concrete platform covered in graffiti.

“What is this?” Castiel asked, looking around as Dean sat on the cool stone. He noticed some old rusty pieces of rebar sticking out and bent at odd angles.

“I dunno, people like to smoke here, but I like to come here to get away from it all, ya know,” Dean said, eyeing Castiel as he sat down next to Dean, both boys leaning against the stone wall, looking over the pond.

After a minute of silence and working up the courage Castiel said, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to worry you. I should not have disappeared like that. I- I didn’t think. It was really stupid.”

“You’re okay, and that’s what matters. I’m sorry I ratted on you to Gabe. I didn’t think he would flip like that.”

“I had it coming. Gabriel thinks he needs to keep me safe,” Castiel shook his head.

“I’m the same with Sammy, I get it. I’d be scared shitless if Sammy went missing, even for a couple days.”

“So much so you’d fall asleep outside his door waiting for him?” Castiel asked fondly, with a slight smile, nudging Dean with his elbow.

“Your roommate told you?” Dean asked, glad Cas couldn’t see the blush creeping over his face.

“Yeah, I didn’t,” he paused for a second, “didn’t realize how much I worried you until he said that.”

“Who was that guy anyway? The British guy?”

“Crowley? He sells me pot.”

“Yeah I got that from the talk with Gabe. But um,” Dean cleared his throat, “I meant, are you like together?”

Castiel turned to Dean, “Do you mean in a relationship?”

“Yeah, I- I saw you on his couch in your underwear, and you looked,” Dean trailed off, his mind wandering back to the memory of Castiel nearly nude.

“We’re not in a relationship. It’s casual.”

“Casual.”

“Like you and Jo.”

Dean didn’t respond, he knew what Cas meant. He was with this Crowley guy for the sex and drugs. 

“Cas,” Dean said, turning to meet the gaze he could feel burning a hole in his face. Castiel’s lips parted slightly, about to respond, when Dean’s lips closed in and pressed softly against Cas’s. His lips were as soft and plump as Dean had pictured, Castiel made a soft, surprised noise before pressing into the kiss. Dean’s hand reached up and caressed Castiel’s chin, he felt the rub of stubble against his palm. Moments later Castiel pulled away with an inhale, his eyes still shut and his cheek pressing lightly into Dean’s hand.

When Castiel’s eyes fluttered open, he noticed Dean staring down at him, his green eyes intently observing how Castiel looked under the moonlight. Castiel’s mouth was still slightly parted, but mostly out of surprise at Deans sudden kiss. Dean rubbed his thumb against Cas’s chin, his heart beating in his throat, just hoping to God that Cas reciprocated this feeling he had.

Castiel reached around the back of Dean’s head and grabbed him by the hair on his nape, dragging him in for more.

_‘Yup, Cas definitely felt it.’_


	17. 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is why I changed the rating to M.

#### Monday 6:36 PM

They don't talk about the kiss. Dean Winchester does not talk about his feelings or anyone else's for that matter. Dean and Cas sat across from each other in their booth at dinner, their eyes playfully flitted from the second they sat down. Dean settled on Cas’s lips and licked his own, craving the soft skin more than he was his burger. 

Gabe waved his hand in front of Dean's face, “Hello?” He drew out the 'o’ and started snapping his fingers. 

“What?” Dean snapped, irritated his friend was getting too close in his personal space.

“Can I get a ride home for break?” Jo asked, exasperated, annoyed that she had to ask him multiple times before he actually paid attention.

“Oh, yeah no biggie,” he said before taking a bite of his burger. 

“You get into Cassie’s stash?”

“No! Why would you say that?” Dean asked defensively.

“You've been a friggin' space cadet today, man.”

Dean took another bite of his burger instead of replying. 

Tuesday morning Dean rushed into history, not wanting to be late again, threw his bag down on the floor, squeezed into the small desk and huffed loudly. Cas turned and raised an eyebrow at him. “You're on time today,” he politely observed.

Dean laughed but didn't have time to respond before their professor began the lecture. He turned to Cas, whose laser sharp focus was aimed at their professor, his eyes slightly squinted, a sign he was focused. 

Eventually Castiel turned to his left, feeling Dean's stare. He glanced at the unopened notebook sitting in front of Dean, who was still staring at Cas. “I'll let you borrow my notes later,” Castiel winked.

Dean's eyes widened, he glanced to his notebook then back to Cas, who was focused once again on the lecture, but had a small smirk in the corner of his lips.

After the professor wished everyone a happy Thanksgiving Castiel began to put away his notebook. 

“So um, when should I get the notes from you?” Dean asked, rubbing the back of his neck, embarrassed that he spent a significant portion of the class gaping at Castiel and replaying their kiss from the night before over and over in his mind. 

Castiel stood up and adjusted his backpack, “I will be out of class by 2.”

“Come by after?” Dean asked eagerly as he began to make his way out of the classroom.

Castiel nodded, “I will see you then.” 

When Dean got back to his room he kept looking at the time on his alarm clock while he was attempting to read from the textbook he neglected during his history class. After what felt like an eternity Gabriel got out of bed and stretched, gathering his things for class. When Gabriel left Dean sat at his desk, patiently waiting for Cas, nervously flipping his pencil and unable to focus on Imperial China.

A knock on his door caused him to shoot out of his chair and answer the door in record time. Castiel stood before him in his trench coat, his hand still raised to the door. 

“Hello Dean,” he said, stepping in the room, pushing past Dean to do so.

Dean paused for a moment before shutting the door quietly. Castiel shrugged off his backpack, placing it on Dean’s desk, then he unzipped it and pulled out his notebook, waving it in the air.

“Oh?” Dean said, surprised, “You meant copying the notes,” he said slowly with disappointment in his voice.

Castiel tilted his head innocently, “What else would I have meant?”

“Uh, well, you winked when you said that. So-” Dean dug his toe into the tile floor, “I thought, never mind,” Dean shook his head and reached out to accept the notebook.

“You thought it was an innuendo,” Castiel said matter of factly. When Dean reached out for the notebook Cas pulled it back out of Dean's reach. “Why did you kiss me?”

“Because I wanted to. Have for a long time,” Dean said honestly. _‘Because I don’t want Crowley to have you. Because I see you staring when you think no one is watching. Because I never want you to go missing again,’_ He thought. Okay, maybe it wasn’t a completely honest answer.

“You have?” Cas asked, surprised.

“Yeah,” Dean stammered. “I’m sorry, we’re friends I don’t want to ruin tha-”

Castiel didn’t let Dean complete his apology, partially because he didn’t want to hear it, Dean had nothing to apologize for, but mostly because he just wanted to feel Dean’s lips against his again. He dropped the notebook and used his hand to wrap around Dean, and pull him in closer. Dean grabbed a fistful of Castiel’s already messy hair and tugged, shoving his face in closer, needing more. They pulled away minutes later, cheeks flushed, lips wet with saliva and out of breath.

“I didn’t know,” Cas huffed, “didn’t know you’re gay. You’re always with women,” he said.

“I like guys too,” Dean said, licking his lips, desperately wanting more.

“Okay,” Castiel said, his arms still wrapped around Dean.

“Okay?” Dean said with a raised eyebrow, dragging his hand down Cas’s neck, resting it at the base of his skull. 

Castiel and Dean’s eyes were level, Cas’s lips were still slightly parted, Dean moved in on them again, this time with more force. More passion. He needed more. He needed Cas. He kissed with such force Castiel bumped into the desk behind him, his ass planted on the table top. Dean gripped the short hairs on the back of Cas’s neck, causing a groan to escape Cas’s lips. Using Cas’s slightly parted lips as an invitation, Dean’s tongue slipped into the younger boys mouth, excitedly exploring. Cas dug his nails into the back of Dean’s t-shirt as his tongue met Dean’s, _‘finally’_ he thought. He had spent months watching, observing, wanting Dean. And now he finally had him.

“Cas,” Dean moaned into their kiss when Castiel gently nipped at Dean’s lower lip. He pushed forward, his body flush with Castiel’s, who now wrapped his legs around Dean’s waist, pulling him closer. 

“I’ve wanted this since I first saw you, you’re beautiful,” Castiel said in the brief moment their lips were apart.

“I’ve noticed the staring,” Dean laughed, closing the gap between their mouths, not wanting them to be apart for another moment. Castiel kissed back, immediately shoving his tongue into Dean’s mouth, eager to taste every inch of him. His hands around Dean’s back began to wander south, he felt denim under his hands and gave a small squeeze, causing Dean to buck into him and give out a small whine. 

“Dean,” Cas moaned, feeling Dean’s erection against his own, craving more touch. Dean’s lips moved away from Cas’s, he kissed down his jawline, stubble scratching at Dean’s lips. His lips moved past the scratchy hair, and met the soft, smooth skin on his neck. Dean kissed down his neck, earning soft whimpers from Cas, begging Dean for more. Dean nipped at his skin, Cas bucked his hips in response and moaned again. His hands wandered to the front, under his shirt, fingers tickling above his jeans before he slipped a finger under the waistband. 

“Want more, Cas,” Dean said, his lips making their way up, meeting Castiel’s. He didn’t need to say any more, Castiel expertly unbuttoned the older boys jeans and pulled the zipper down, making a point to apply pressure to the hardness underneath it. Dean groaned at the pressure, desperately wanting more. He did the same to Castiel, Dean’s fingers working at the zipper, attempting to work his jeans down, but since Castiel was sitting on the desk he gave up quickly. He was far more interested in the way Cas had worked his cock out of his own jeans and how his soft hand was already wrapped around him. Castiel worked himself out of his pants instead of tugging them down, 

Dean immediately placed his hand around Castiel, the two stroking each other in pace. Their lips found each other once again, lips parted and tongues swirling around each other. Castiel quickened his pace, Dean moaned loudly, pulling away from Castiel’s mouth and resting their foreheads together. Dean twisted his hand around Castiel’s head, earning a low moan, “Dean,” he panted. 

Castiel placed his mouth over Dean’s again as he felt himself on the verge of an orgasm, they kissed passionately, needy. Dean needed nothing more than Cas, he needed to kiss him, hold him, he needed Cas to be his. Dean moaned Cas’s name loudly as he came, sending Cas over the edge as well. 

“Gabe will be back any minute,” Dean said, glancing at the clock then back to Cas, pulling his forehead away from Cas’s. Castiel was slumped against the wall, still sitting on the desk, his jeans still unzipped, but he nodded slowly. 

“It would probably be in our best interest if he does not know about this,” Castiel said as he zipped up his pants, Dean pulled away so he could grab tissues, passing a couple to Cas.

“Agreed,” Dean said as he wiped the almost dry come off his pants, he definitely needed to do laundry. He shed the pants and tossed them in his laundry basket before grabbing another pair off the floor.

Castiel stood up and tugged at his shirt, now glued to his stomach. He made a disgusted and slightly pained face, feeling the dried come tugging on the dark hair on his stomach. 

Not even a minute later Gabriel strolled in, surprised to see his little brother standing in their room, “Hey baby bro,” he greeted, tossing his bag down on his bed. 

“Hello,” Castiel nodded to his brother.

Gabe looked between his brother with his messy hair and small red marks on his neck, and Dean who looked like a deer in the headlights, his pants unbuttoned. “What’s uh, goin’ on here?” Gabe asked wearily, wagging his fingers between the two younger guys.

“Nothing-”

“I brought Dean notes from class,” Castiel scrambled to find that notebook, which was face down on the floor. He picked it up and waved it in the air before placing it on Dean’s desk.

“Uh, huh,” Gabe said, unconvinced. “You skip your 2 two o’clock?”

“Yeah, just reviewing for the midterm,” Dean shrugged.

“Okay,” Gabriel said, “Well I’ve gotta meet Chuck, so I guess I’ll just go do that,” he said slowly before digging around in his liquor stash.

After Gabe left the room Dean and Castiel looked at each other, Dean gulped. “I dunno about you but that was awkward,” Dean said.

“Yes, yes it was,” Castiel said.

Gabriel apparently wasn’t planning on having dinner with his friends that night, which didn’t entirely surprise Dean. Thanksgiving break officially started tomorrow, there were no classes so everyone on campus was buzzing with excitement, talking about the holiday and happy that midterms were mostly over. Gabe was likely out drinking with Chuck. 

It was difficult for Jo, Charlie, Cas, and Dean to come to an agreement about their plans for the night, but eventually they all came to a consensus when Charlie suggested a movie night. They made a plan to meet back at Dean and Gabe’s room in an hour. Charlie went to get the movies, Cas was on snack duty, and Jo and Dean went back to his room his set up the VHS player. 

Dean was disconnecting the Nintendo and connecting the tape player while Jo cracked open a beer before sitting on his bed. 

“Why is that taking so long?” Jo asked after she finished the beer and crumpled up the can, then tossed it in the direction of his trash can.

“If you helped, it would be done faster,” Dean mumbled, unplugging the cord after he realized it was plugged into the wrong outlet. 

“Nah, I like the view,” she laughed, kicking Dean gently in the ass on her way to the mini fridge to get another drink. 

“I don’t think Benny would like that very much,” Dean said.

Jo scoffed before sitting back on the bed, “We’re not that serious.”

“But you are serious?”

“I don’t know, we’re exclusive,” Jo shrugged and her thought trailed off. “Should’ve given you some warning.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“Your hand will be happy it wasn’t forgotten,” she laughed.

“Don’t need it," he said, pushing the TV away from the wall to shine more light on the back of it.

“Oh you’re getting some now?”

“I’m always gettin’ some,” Dean said before successfully connecting the VHS player, “Got it!”

Charlie and Castiel barged in a few minutes later, “Who’s ready for a Star Trek marathon?” Charlie exclaimed with a grin on her face.


	18. 18

#### Wednesday 1:45PM

Dean pulled the Impala up to the curb and let it idle, he drummed his fingers against the steering wheel while he waited for Sam to get out of school. He heard the bell ring and moments later teenagers poured out the front door, eager for Thanksgiving break. After the crowd died down he patiently waited for his brother, then wondered if Sam was staying late to study; he wouldn’t be the least bit surprised. He wondered if he should have asked Sam if he was planning on staying after before he decided to surprise him. Dean waited a few minutes longer, singing along to Master of Puppets, then saw Sam come out of the building. Sam was walking leisurely, talking to a petite blonde girl who was staring up at him with a wide, toothy smile.

“Hey, Samantha!” Dean called through the open the passenger window, a grin plastered on his face.

Sam’s head whipped up to see the Impala, his face pinched, then the blonde girl waved goodbye to him before she turned towards a bike rack. Sam stalked over to the car and got into the passenger seat with a scowl on his face, "We were kind of talking," he said with typical teenager attitude.

“Your girlfriend doesn’t want a ride home?” Dean asked, hesitating to look at the bike rack where the blonde was riding away before pulling away from the curb.

“She’s not my girlfriend,” Sam glared at his brother and folded his arms.

“Why not?” Sam didn’t reply. “I can show you some moves, guaranteed to get you some action.”

“Gross, Dean!”

Dean laughed, “Man, I missed you Sammy,” he glanced over to his right, Sam’s expression had softened, noticeably happy to be back in his brothers company.

“I’m glad you’re home,” Sam said, his big puppy dog eyes looking at Dean. “You should come home more, it’s not the same without you.”

The only reason Dean went to college was because of how close to home his school was. If there wasn’t a university in Lawrence, he probably wouldn’t have gone at all; Bobby would have let him keep working at the shop. Dean gladly would have done that if it wasn't for his father's insistence he follow his footsteps so he could one day take over the firm. He gulped, feeling guilty that he hadn’t seen his brother since August, despite living only a short distance away. “I’ll come home more, I promise,” Dean vowed before pausing, “Mom and dad fighting again?”

Sam nodded his head, hoping Dean would keep his promise. Having Dean around made things easier on Sam, there was someone else to distract him when their father came home drunk and belligerent- picking a fight with whoever was in his way.

“Hey, maybe you could come visit me at school,” Dean said as he came to a stop at the light. “It’s not Stanford, but it will be fun.”

Sam had his heart set on Stanford for as long as Dean could remember, he was so smart, he was going to make a hell of a lawyer someday. Dean was sure Sam would be able to go there on a full scholarship, the kid was practically a genius, taking all advanced placement courses, and even signing up for a college course over the summer to start getting prerequisites out of the way so he would be able to focus on the harder classes when he finally arrived to Stanford.

“It would be cool to see what it’s like,” Sam said with hesitation, shrugging slightly.

#### 6:23 PM

“You’ve been talking an awful lot about this Cas, is he in your major?” Mary asked, scooping a spoonful of peas onto her plate. 

“No, he’s Gabe’s brother.”

“Another brother? How many Novak’s are there?” John said with a snort before sipping his glass of whiskey.

“Five, Cas is the youngest.”

“What is he? Your boyfriend?” Sam asked, sick of hearing Dean talk constantly about this new friend. 

“Fuck off,” Dean scowled, kicking his brother under the table.

“Ow! Jerk!” Sam exclaimed, grabbing for his shin.

At the same time John sternly said, “Dean.”

Mary scolded, “Boys!”

Sam shot Dean his classic bitch face, and Dean scowled at him but shut his mouth out of fear of being further scolded by his parents. 

After a few minutes of silence save for the sounds of their chewing John said to Dean, “Jody says you’ve had a few tardies.”

Sam attempted to hold in a snicker, his head held low to avoid his brother's glare.

“A few? That’s all?” Dean asked proudly after he swallowed his mouthful of pork. 

“Dean,” John warned, “college is the start of your professional career. You better not be dragging the Winchester name through the mud. I worked hard to get where I am, and I expect the same effort from you.”

“Dad,” Dean groaned, setting down his fork. “I was late to Jody’s class twice, at least I showed up.”

“Dean, I’m serious.”

“Honey, go easy on him. He didn’t have any absences, right?” Mary asked hopefully, turning to her oldest son, hoping he would confirm.

“None,” Dean said proudly. Mary gave him a soft smile before giving her husband a look with her eyes to not pry any further. John looked down to his drink before swirling it around and taking a sip, not engaging further in the conversation. Dean was thankful his mother was able to get his dad off his back before things escalated- he really did not want a famous Winchester yelling match his first night home for the holiday.

Dean was confident he had at least a B+ in Jody’s class, but he knew that and his perfect attendance was still not enough to gain his dad’s approval. His father was never happy with Dean’s performance. Dean chased after his father’s approval his entire life, hell he played baseball for 7 years just because his dad suggested one season he try it. When Dean made his first home run he saw pride in his father’s face for the first time and had been chasing that feeling since. After that, John expected nothing short of Dean’s best, in sports and in academics. Unfortunately, Dean’s grades could never live up to Sam’s. Dean was damn proud of Sam; who was hands down the smartest person he knew; but he knew their dad would never be as proud of Dean as he was Sam. He hoped that getting his bachelor's degree in architecture would finally show his dad he was smart enough- that he was good enough. Dean swallowed and stared at the glass in front of him, lost in his own thoughts.

After dinner Sam and Dean sat in front of the television in the basement, John was in his study and Mary cleaning up in the kitchen. Dean turned to his brother during a commercial break and asked, “So Jess, huh?”

“What about her?” Sam crossed his arms in front of his chest.

“She’s cute.”

“Yeah?” Sam half asked despite knowing it’s true, wondering what Dean was getting at.

“You should ask her out,” Dean said with a light smack to his younger brothers arm.

“How’s your girlfriend?” Sam asked, not wanting to discuss his relationship (or lack of) with Jess. Sam was crazy about her, and she knew that- or at least Sam thought she did. Sam was always coming up with excuses to spend time with her in and outside of school. He rushed to pick her for his lab partner in chemistry, thankfully before Becky was able to get to him. When Sam noticed Jess’ disappointed sigh after their AP history project, he offered to help her study and since then they have spent every Tuesday afternoon together in the library, laughing in between chapters.

Dean snorted, “People who date in college are morons. So much easy action, why settle for one person?”

“Gross, Dean. Is sex all you think about?” Sam made a disgusted face at his brother.

“I just like to keep my options open,” Dean lied with a shrug, looking down to avert his eyes from his brother, knowing Sam was able to see right through him.


	19. 19

Castiel rapped his knuckles on Dean and Gabriel’s door at exactly 7 PM like they agreed on and waited a moment for the door to open.

“How many times do I gotta tell ya Cas, you don’t need to knock,” Dean said as he opened the door, knowing it was Cas because he was the most punctual person Dean had ever met.

“No matter how many times you tell him, he’ll keep doing it. You’re too polite, Cassie,” Gabriel said from his bed, casually flipping through a magazine.

“If my biggest flaw is being too polite, then I’m alright with that,” he said as he shrugged off his trench coat and backpack, placing them over the back of Dean’s desk chair. “Dean, are you feeling ready for our exam?”

Dean snorted and shrugged, “Isn’t that why you’re here? Because I’m not?”

“Yes, I suppose reviewing the material will help your confidence.”

“What’s the test on again?” Dean joked, earning a glare from Cas, who was pulling his notes from his bag. Dean decided to follow Cas’ lead, he sorted through his stack of notebooks on his desk until he found his history one.

“Please tell me you’re joking,” Castiel stared at Dean, now sitting at the foot of his bed, flipping through the pages.

“I am, relax Cas,” he said without looking up, and patted the mattress next to him, inviting Cas to sit. Castiel obliged, sitting next to Dean far closer than necessary, their thighs brushing, Dean could feel the warmth from Castiel’s arm beside his.

“Uh, personal space, Cas,” Dean coughed uncomfortably, nodding to his roommate and raising his eyebrows as if to say _‘not in front of Gabe’_.

“I’m sorry,” Castiel said before scooting slightly to his right, making the gap between them a couple inches.

“He’s never been big on personal space,” Gabriel chimed in, not looking up at them.

Dean and Castiel reviewed their notes for nearly an hour before they were interrupted by a knock on the door. Gabriel was half asleep, and jumped up at the sound, “What?” He called, then a moment later the door opened enough for Chuck to stick his head in.

“Wanna go for a?” Chuck raised his hand to his mouth as if he was holding an imaginary joint, then turning to look behind him to make sure none of his residents were watching him.

Gabriel yawned and stretched, “Give me five,” he kicked his legs over the edge of his bed as Chuck asked, “Dean, Cas?”

“Nah, thanks man, but I’ve really gotta study,” Dean said, looking sadly at his notes. He would so much rather be doing literally anything other than studying- but at least he had Cas to keep him company.

“Thank you, but Dean is right, we need to study.”

Chuck didn’t say anything, he just ducked his head back out the door and shut it behind him as Gabriel pulled on his shoes, “See ya, nerds.”

Not even a minute after Gabriel exited his room Dean’s lips were on Castiel’s, kissing him feverishly. Castiel pulled away briefly, hating breaking the kiss but needing to say, “Maybe we should lock the door this time.”

Dean nodded in agreement, then jumping up when he realized Cas was asking him to lock the door, not just stating that it should be locked. He flipped the lock before hurrying back to his bed and grabbing Cas by the chin and crashing their lips together.

“Hey, what the-” Gabriel said from the other side of the door after turning the handle and to his surprise it wouldn't open. He blinked, staring at the door for a second before he patted his pockets to find his keys. “I don’t remember locking the door,” Gabriel mumbled to himself out loud as he opened the door. He waved in the direction of Dean’s side of the room before pulling a candy bar out of his pocket and flopping onto his bed, picking up where he left off in his magazine.

Dean and Castiel looked at each other then at Gabe nervously, Dean’s face beet red and Castiel panting slightly. Gabriel didn’t seem to notice, he was too focused on unwrapping the chocolate to care about anything else, not even that his brother and his roommate were under the blanket on Dean’s bed. He clearly didn't notice as Castiel felt around under the covers for his pants and pulled them on under the blanket, zipping them over his painfully hard erection and re-adjusting himself in his pants. 

“See you in the morning, Dean. Good luck,” he said with a crack in his voice before clearing his throat. “Bye Gabriel,” he said, pulling his coat on while silently praying his roommate was not in their room so he could have release.

“See ya,” Gabriel said, still not looking up, his mouth now full of chocolate, too high to care about anything other than candy and swim suit models.

Dean, still under his blanket grumbled with frustration and sat up slightly to fluff his pillow a little more aggressively than he anticipated.

#### Thursday

Dean's last final exam was unluckily on the last day of finals, causing him to stay on campus two extra days than most of his friends. He could have gone home and commuted to the exam considering he lived in the same city, but Dean knew himself; he knew if he went home and smelled mom's home cooking and laid in his own bed there would be no way he would be back on campus for an eight AM exam. When the hell did Dean Winchester become so _responsible_.

Gabe and Cas took off almost the second their exams were over. Michael had his old clunker of a BMW and drove his younger siblings home Tuesday afternoon- Dean didn't even have the chance to say goodbye; Gabriel was long gone and left behind as a joke (at least Dean hoped it was) some porno mags spread open. 

Jo was picked up by Ash the day before; Ash was pretty resistant to return to the Harvelle-Singer household when he went to get her, he tried to convince her to let him spend a night at the dorm; he said he needed a break from their parents. Jo just shot her step brother a glare and crossed her arms, then next minute they were in his car on their way home. 

By the time Dean's last exam finished, he already had his car packed and ready to go and he was homeward bound for the next month. He was incredibly happy to be going home and spending time with his family, especially Sammy. The five days off for Thanksgiving was not enough time for the brothers, and Dean couldn't help but feel guilty seeing Sam's kicked puppy face when he drove back to his dorm for the last couple weeks of the semester. But now he had a month of time to hang with his brother- if Sam wasn't too embarrassed to be caught spending time with his brother. Dean was looking forward to using his extra time to help out Bobby at the garage and earn some money that didn't have the stench of pizza grease all over it. He felt content just thinking about sitting at the kitchen table, telling his mom about Cas while she baked fresh bread and pie. 

_'Telling mom about Cas,’_ Dean thought to himself, unconsciously gripping the steering wheel tighter. He didn't know what he was going to tell his mom about Cas. At Thanksgiving dinner he kicked Sammy under the table when he asked Dean if Cas was his boyfriend, with a flash of anger in his eyes and the slightest hint of a blush across his cheeks. He pretty much stopped talking about Cas after that. Dean wondered if he even needed to tell her about Cas- of course he didn't need to. But that didn't mean that he didn't want to tell her about the funny way he tilts his head when he's confused like a puppy learning commands. He knew she would love his laugh, deep and hearty, like everything was the funniest thing he had ever heard. His toothy smile was truly contagious- he just knew she would love him. Mary would undoubtedly make Cas feel like family; she was the kind of woman who would find out his favorite food and make it for dinner the next night. God, Cas would love mom's brownies. Hell, Dean was sure even John would like Cas. Dad never failed to miss Jeopardy after dinner, and Dean was positive Cas would be great at it, the guy was a freakin’ encyclopedia. And Sammy- those two would be peas in a pod. They'd nerd out over mythology or Shakespeare and make Dean feel like a complete moron. 

Dean realized he wanted to tell him family all about Cas, he wanted them to meet him. He wanted Cas to come over for dinner and meet his parents. He wanted to take Cas for a ride in the Impala; maybe out to the campground and they could sit on the hood and look at the stars as he and Sammy did with dad so many times before. Cas could probably point out all the constellations, he would know their origin stories. He wanted so much with Cas. He didn't want that slimy guy Crowley to touch him anymore, he didn't want Cas to go home with random guys at parties. He wanted Cas to himself. 

Soon enough Dean was pulling into his driveway next to the Impala, sitting pretty and pristine as ever. Dean grinned just seeing her, thinking maybe he could convince dad to let him take her out today. He was really sick of his beater, he missed the feeling of the cool leather beneath his finger tips, the sound of legos rattling when the AC kicked on (Dad still complained every time he heard it, even after all these years). 

Dean wasn't surprised to find the house completely quiet when he unlocked the door, his parents both at work. He kicked off his boots next to the giant clown sized sneakers that could only belong to Sam before he trotted up the stairs to his room. Dean dropped his duffel bags and laundry basket on the floor before falling face first into his bed, exhausted after another semester.

Dean woke up what felt like only minutes later to Sam slamming his door open to greet his brother. “You’re home!” He exclaimed.

Dean mumbled something close to “Hey, Sammy,” that was muffled by his pillow. He rubbed his eyes with his palm before pushing himself so he was sitting upright. 

“Mom said we can go to the Roadhouse for dinner tonight,” Sam said excitedly. 

“I’m comin’, I’m comin’,” Dean said with a yawn, rolling his neck to the side to stretch it.

Sam lingered in the doorway for a minute while Dean got up, cringing when Dean ruffled his hair as he walked past him. 

The Winchester’s entered the Roadhouse, Dean begrudgingly telling his father about his classes for the Spring- he just started break couldn’t the interrogating hold off a couple days? Ellen was wiping the bar with a rag, and greeted them with a smile. “Look who survived another semester!” She exclaimed to Dean, thankfully interrupting his conversation with John. 

“Barely!” Dean laughed as Ellen retreated from behind the bar to pull him into a hug.

“Good to see ya, sweetie.”

“Ash, you could learn somethin’ from him,” Bobby said, getting off a bar stool.

“I get it I got kicked out of college!” Ash shouted sarcastically from the back office. 

“When the hell are ya gonna take out the trash?” Ellen asked loudly before pouring a beer for John. Within a few seconds Ash exited the office, waving halfheartedly to the Winchesters as he went into the kitchen to get the trash. 

“I’ll take a brew,” Dean said with a smirk. 

He felt a hand smack him upside the head, followed by, “Shut up,” from Bobby. 

“Good try, dumb ass,” Jo said, counting the register.

“When do you go back?” Ash asked eagerly, sitting at the bar top next to Dean.

“He won’t shut up about UKan, what the hell did you two get into?” Ellen asked, leaning on the bar. 

Dean and Ash shared a glance before he turned back to Ellen, “Nothin’.”

“Bull.”

“It was a mellow night,” Dean lied with a smile.

Before Mary went off to bed for the night she went down into the basement where the boys were watching a horror movie. She leaned over the couch and placed a soft kiss on Deans cheek, “I’m happy you’re home,” she said.

Dean just replied with a smile and looked at his mother fondly. 

“Don’t stay up too late, you have school in the morning,” she said to Sam when she was halfway up the stairs, despite knowing him and Dean were going to be up until the wee hours of the morning.

Dean laughed loudly, mocking his younger brother for having school the next day. Mary rolled her eyes and shut the door behind her, leaving them to their horrible television movies.


	20. 20

#### December 26 8:39PM

“Dean! Phone!” Mary called down the stairs to the basement, distracting Dean from his laser focus on his new Mario game he received yesterday for Christmas.

“In a minute!” He called back, determined to finish the level.

Dean heard Mary talking quietly into the phone, then she called from the top of the stairs, “Don't be too long, it's your friend Castiel.”

“Cas?” Dean asked, raising an eyebrow. He set the controller down and hopped off the couch. 

“Dean!” Sam whined, “we're so close to the finish!” 

“I'll be right back,” Dean said as he bounded up the stairs, already to the top before Sam could protest more. He hurried to the phone, almost slipping on the linoleum in his socked feet. 

“Hiya Cas,” Dean said smoothly, acting as if he didn't just run up a flight of stairs in a few steps to get to the phone.

“Dean,” Castiel croaked.

“Cas? What's up?” Dean said, his smile falling at his friends tone.

“Zachariah,” Castiel said quietly, “he and I had a spat.” 

“Are you okay?” Dean asked, concerned for the younger boy. From what he had heard from Gabriel, their uncle was a real douche bag. 

“I can't be around him right now,” his voice cracked, he sounded like he was about to cry. It completely broke Dean's heart to hear him this way. “I didn't know where else to turn to. Michael always takes his side, and Gabriel can't be bothered to get in the middle of it,” he rushed out in a huff.

“Do you want to come here?” Dean asked with a hint of hope in his voice. That had to be why Cas was calling- Cas must have wanted to see Dean. Dean was just thankful this time he wasn’t going to disappear into the arms of a skeevy British drug dealer.

“Would your parents mind?” Castiel asked.

Dean bit his lip, the one thing he hated about being at home was having to get his parents permission for most things. They didn’t usually care, he came and went as he pleased, but he knew he would have to ask before having someone over other than Ash and Jo- especially at nearly 9 in the evening. Having the freedom he had at school ripped away in an instant was always an adjustment during breaks, and it caused a lot of fights between him and his parents. “Let me check, hang on a sec,” Dean said, dropping the phone and letting it dangle by the cord.

“Mom? Can Cas come over?” Dean asked, hovering in the doorway to the living room.

“Now? Dean it's pretty late,” she said warily, unsure how her husband would feel about this.

“Yeah, he got into a fight or something with his uncle. The guy's a real ass- jerk,” Mary could tell Dean was upset at this, and she pouted slightly. It sounded to her like Dean had become pretty good friends with Cas over the fall and she appreciated his effort to try not curse in front of her.

Dean hated the thought of Cas being hurt, he didn’t deserve it, he was a good guy, Zach was just a dick. And he didn't even know what this argument was about.

“Well I suppose that would be alright.”

“Thanks Mom!” Dean beamed before hurrying back to the dangling phone. “Cas you still there?” 

“Yes Dean I'm here,” it sounded like he sniffled.

“You can stay with me. Do you need me to come get you? I can pick you up,” Dean unsuccessfully tried to hide his excitement.

“No that won't be necessary. Thank you though, I appreciate the offer.”

After Dean got off the phone he was jittery with excitement; he hadn't seen Cas in weeks and now he was coming to see him. _'Shit, I need to clean my room,’_ he thought before he took off up the stairs to his bedroom. As he was picking dirty laundry off the floor Mary appeared in the doorway, amused by how suddenly motivated her oldest was to clean his room. She had never seen him that motivated to clean anything, not even the impala. 

“Dean, honey,” she said quietly so she wouldn't startle him.

He just hummed in response, continuing to gather clothes from all over his room. 

“Where is your friend going to sleep?” 

Dean stopped, he hadn't entirely thought past _Cas is coming over right now_ to rationally think of the logistics of it. “Isn't Sam's bed a trundle? I'll bring the spare mattress in here, he won't miss it.”

“Dean,” she said again, causing him to turn and look at her, “if there's any,” she paused, “funny business-”

“Mom, mom, stop!” Dean groaned, he was almost 20 for fucks sake, he didn't need ‘the talk’ from his mother. 

“Okay!” She raised her hands in defense before giving him a stern look and turning around to allow him to finish cleaning. 

Sam trudged upstairs with his signature bitch face, annoyed that Dean hadn't come back to finish their game. He found Dean in the upstairs hallway, fumbling around in the linen closet. Sam leaned against the wall with his arms crossed and a sour puss face. “I thought you said you'd be right back.”

“Sorry Sammy, rain check.” 

“What are you doing?” 

“Getting sheets. Cas is coming to stay with us for a bit.” 

“Mom! Dean's boyfriend is coming over?” Sam shouted down the stairs.

“Shut up!” Dean exclaimed, punching his brother in the arm harder than he should have.

“Ow! Jerk!” 

“Bitch,” Dean said before turning back to the closet to find a pillowcase.

When the doorbell rang Dean was still upstairs setting up the mattresses for Cas. Mary opened the door, revealing the younger boy, his dark hair disheveled and bright blue eyes looking sadly down at her. 

“You must be Castiel,” Mary said, letting him into their home. “I'm Mary, Dean's mom. It is so nice to meet you.”

“Hello Mary. Thank you for allowing me to come over so late, it was very kind.”

“Our door is always open,” she said as he began to peel off his trench coat.

“Cas, hey,” Dean approached him, stopping a few feet in front of him, admiring that he was really here.

Castiel noticed the pile of shoes next to the front door and how Dean and Mary were both in socks, so he toed off his sneakers and abandoned them with the rest of the shoes. “Hello Dean.”

Sam peeked around the corner from the couch and waved, “Hi Cas.”

“Sam,” Castiel nodded in his direction. 

“Let me show you around,” Dean said, eager to get Castiel away from the stares of his mother and little brother. Dean led him away from the doorway, past the couch and pointed to a door past the stairs. “Bathroom, and kitchen,” he pointed through an entryway. “And basement, that's where the movies and games are,” he led him into the kitchen where the door to the basement was. 

“Is your Nintendo at your dorm?” Castiel asked, hoping the answer was no. 

“Nope, got some new games for Christmas too.”

“You will have to teach me how to play.” 

“Hell yeah! I’ll show you upstairs. You'll be staying in my room. If that's okay with you I mean,” Dean quickly added the last part. 

“Yes that is fine,” Castiel said before following Dean up the stairs to the second floor. “I appreciate you and your family letting me stay here so last minute.”

“Of course, man. My mom loves having company. And my dad will just be happy you're not my grandparents,” he snorted, turning to look behind him. 

“Did your grandparents visit for Christmas?” 

“Yeah, and Thanksgiving. He's had enough bonding with my grandpa to last the rest of the year,” he said with a smirk and a small huff of a laugh. 

Dean stopped outside his bedroom, the door ajar from his last minute cleaning. “It's a hell of a lot cleaner than the dorm.” He said, feeling self conscious of his cleaning efforts, knowing Cas is a bit of a neat freak. 

“You'd have to try pretty hard to make it worse than your and Gabriel's room.”

Dean laughed as he let Castiel in, and instructed him to put his things wherever he wanted. Castiel placed his backpack on the floor and looked around, drinking in Dean's room. He noticed the twin bed in the corner, and the mattress on the floor next to it. Cas eyed the classic car posters, the photographs on the dresser, and the overflowing laundry basket in the corner. The bed and mattress were piled with blankets, Cas so desperately wanted to dive into the bed and wrap himself in the blankets. He ignored the urge, distracted by Dean’s voice asking him if he needs anything. Castiel shook his head, but Dean pushed, “How about some pie?”

Castiel smiled, “I would love some, thank you, Dean.”

At the kitchen table Castiel grinned over his plate of half-eaten apple pie. Dean laughed before coughing, choking on the crumbly crust. Mary smiled to herself as she wrapped up the rest of the uneaten pie, it had been a long time since she had seen Dean this happy. Dean sipped on a glass of water to wash down the pie lodged in his throat. 

When the front door closed Dean stiffened, worried how his dad would react to Cas being here. John had been out at the Roadhouse with Bobby; their post-holiday tradition; and he could be in any mood now that he had been drinking. 

“Mhm, do I smell apple pie?” John said, the smell luring him into the kitchen, he went over to Mary and placed a hand on her hip, passing her to get to the leftovers. Dean breathed a sigh of relief, John was in a good mood, must be happy Samuel and Deanna were gone and he had the chance to unwind with Bobby. “Who’s this?” John said after he turned to the table, sitting down across from Dean. 

“Dad, this is Cas,” Dean said, wiping crumbs off his chin.

“Cas! Gabriel’s brother, right?” John said, digging into the pie.

“Yes, sir.”

“John, Castiel is going to stay with us for a little bit,” Mary said, raising her eyebrows at him, giving him a signal that Dean assumed meant ‘don’t start in front of company’. 

John just nodded as he ate his pie. 

“What happened between you and Zach?” Dean asked as they each laid on their separate beds.

Castiel sighed, “He found out about my, um, bender.”

“How?” Dean rolled over onto his side, propped up with his shoulder.

“Michael.”

“Why’d he tell him that?” 

Castiel shrugged despite Dean not being able to see the motion. “Spite, I suppose.”

“Well I'm happy you came to me and not that Crowley guy.” 

“So am I,” Castiel said before pulling the blanket up to his chin.


	21. 21

Castiel woke up when Dean accidentally stepped on his leg, and when he blinked away the sleep in his eyes he remembered that he was at the Winchester's. Dean stopped in his tracks and apologized for stepping on him. Cas mumbled a tired, “It’s okay,” before rolling over and placing an arm under his head, but Dean had already disappeared, the door left ajar behind him. 

When Dean returned he pulled a Led Zeppelin sweatshirt over his head and asked, “Breakfast?” 

Castiel yawned and nodded, sitting up, revealing his messier than normal morning hair. 

The two made their way downstairs and were greeted by the sound of cartoons playing on the television. Sam was on the couch, wrapped in a knitted blanket, and perked up at the sound of footsteps. 

“Mom's at work, can you make pancakes?” Sam asked his brother, turning around to face the older boys. 

“Pancakes good with you, Cas?” Dean said as he opened the fridge to look for eggs. 

Castiel leaned against the counter, yawned and nodded. 

“Coffee first, though,” Dean smirked at Castiel, who made a small smile and nodded again.

After the coffee was poured and Sam complained multiple times about the lack of pancake cooking, Dean finally started mixing the batter together. Sam hovered anxiously in the kitchen and Dean shooed him away. “Why didn't you make them yourself? You know how to use a stove.” 

Sam glared at his older brother and pursed his lips. “You're a better cook than I am.” 

“You can cook?” Castiel asked, a souvenir coffee mug from the Grand Canyon planted firmly between his palms, the steam floating up to his nose.

“Not really, just the basics,” Dean shrugged and he flipped a pancake. 

“He's pretty good,” Sam said, knowing his brother was being humble about his skill.

“You'll have to make me dinner sometime,” Cas teased, sipping his coffee when it had sufficiently cooled.

“How ‘bout we have breakfast first, then if you aren't poisoned I'll make ya dinner,” he winked at Cas, causing him to turn a light shade of pink. 

“Sam do you have any plans for Christmas break?” Cas asked, pouring maple syrup on to his pancakes. 

“I have a project on the Industrial revolution I need to finish.” 

“Sammy it's called Christmas break for a reason.” 

“And Jess and I were planning on checking out the new Egypt display at the museum,” he added. 

“You planning on having any fun?” Dean snickered with a mouthful and syrup dripping down his chin.

“The museum is fun, Dean.”

“We're going to have fun today if it kills you,” Dean said.“Now how much longer on the Looney Toons marathon?” 

Mary was greeted by an almost silent house. She shimmied out of her coat and set her purse down on a chair in the kitchen. Dean's car was in the driveway, and the sink was full of dirty plates. She heard shouting from the open basement door, a chorus of “no” and then a victorious “in your face!”. Mary shook her head before making her way downstairs. Cas and Sam sat next to each other on the old couch, Dean on the floor between Castiel's legs. 

“I'm play winner,” Dean announced while Castiel and Sam each held a controller. 

Instead of interrupting the boys, Mary turned around and headed back upstairs with a smile on her face, _'Boys’_ she thought. 

Castiel licked his lips and thanked Mary for cooking dinner, the smell of mashed potatoes wafting into his nose before he took a bite. 

“You're welcome, honey. So how long will you be staying with us?” 

“I, um, I'm not sure,” Castiel said shyly, unsure if this was her way of asking him to leave and pushed the potatoes around with his fork. 

“Do you have plans for New Year's?” Dean asked, unsure what the holidays were like in the Novak-Alder household. He figured Zach had some kind of fancy dinner party, force all the kids to wear formal attire and mingle with Zach's lawyer friends.

"No, Zachariah only celebrates religious holidays."

“Remember we're going to Jodie’s, Ash and Jo are coming over here with the kids,” John chimed in, pointing his fork towards his wife.

“Oh, right,” Mary said. “The five of you would have a fun time! Castiel, would you like to stay through New Year's?"

“I'd love to, thank you," Castiel smiled and said graciously.

“Can I invite some other friends?” Dean asked with a grin, ready to turn their casual New Year's Eve into a real party.

“Sure, I don't see why not,” said Mary after turning to John and saw him shrug and nod.

“Can I invite friends over too?”

“Your girlfriend?” Dean egged him on. 

“She's not my girlfriend!” Sam protested. 

“Boys, not in front of company,” John said sternly before adding, “yes you can invite friends over too.” 

Dean took a bite of his meatloaf with satisfaction and smirked, already planning who he was inviting to this party. 

After dinner Dean eagerly twirled the keys to the Impala around his index finger, ready to show Cas his baby. He opened the front door for Castiel who was adjusting a black winter hat on his head. Dean almost laughed at the sight of Castiel with his long trench coat and beanie; he looked like a total creep. 

“So this is your,” Castiel paused, “baby?”

“Yeah, beautiful isn’t she?” Dean asked, climbing into the driver's seat.

“I guess.”

“You guess?” Dean scoffed as Castiel joined him in the car.

“It’s a car, I don’t really see how it’s beautiful.”

Dean scowled, “You will.”

Castiel smirked with an “Okay,” as Dean threw the car into reverse and pulled out of the driveway. “Where are we going?” He asked, the car driving away from Dean’s neighborhood, the streetlights becoming more and more sparse.

Dean shrugged and turned to face Cas briefly, “I dunno. Just out for a drive.”

“Luring me into the woods to kill me?” Castiel chuckled, looking out the window, hoping to get some sense of where he they are going.

Dean laughed loudly, Castiel noticed his green eyes illuminated in the bright lights of an oncoming car. 

“Zachariah and I have not been getting along as of late.”

“He sounds like a real dick,” Dean said.

“He can be. His anger is usually directed towards Luke and Gabriel. But Luke isn’t around and Gabriel doesn’t give a shit anymore.”

“So what happened?”

_Michael spooned peas onto his plate and asked, “So, Castiel? How was your vacation?”_

_Castiel glared at Michael, his eyes red and narrowed._

_“Vacation?” Zachariah asked after he sipped his wine, turning to face Castiel._

_“Yes, didn’t you hear? Castiel took off for a weekend break.”_

_“Where did he go?” Zachariah asked Michael as if Castiel wasn’t there, despite staring directly at Castiel, his wine glass held just below his chin._

_“What does it matter? It was a weekend, it’s not like he skipped class,” Gabriel interjected, and his younger brother looked at him with a silent thanks._

_“Well he worried you terribly, didn’t he?” Michael asked, referring to Gabriel’s phone call to the frat house. Michael had a smug expression on his face, his wine glass resting in his hand. Gabriel’s face wrinkled at Michael, but did not retort, he knew it was true and he did not want to get anymore involved in this than he already was. Gabriel knew not to get involved in matters with his uncle, it took a few years of defending his eldest brother, but Gabe eventually learned it was best to stay out of it._

_“You took off for a weekend and your brothers didn’t know where you were?”_

_“I’m an adult, why do they need to know my whereabouts at all times?” Castiel asked, annoyed as he pushed peas around on his plate, his red eyes avoiding his uncle’s gaze._

_“You’re practically still a child, Castiel, if this incident-”_

_“It’s not an incident,” Castiel said, having to mentally remind himself not to roll his eyes. “And I’m not a child!”_

_“Don’t raise your voice at me!” Zachariah exclaimed, pointing his fork at the youngest Novak. “And stop avoiding the question- where were you?”_

_“I heard he was with Crowley,” Michael said, venom in his voice._

_Castiel’s fists balled under the table, how could Michael know that, he stared straight on at Michael, whose lips were pursed with satisfaction._

_“Crowley?” Zachariah bellowed._

_“This conversation is over,” Castiel snapped, standing up out of his seat. He looked over his shoulder at Anna. She had shrunk into her chair, attempting to avoid any and all participation in this. Anna looked at her cousin sympathetically as he shook his head and stormed away from the dining table._

_“This conversation is not over Castiel!” Zachariah called, not bothering to turn around as Castiel strided away. “Did you know where he was?” He asked Gabriel, disbelief in his voice, unable to comprehend why Castiel would spend time with that low life drug dealer Luke was so fond of._

_“I’m a little busy at school. I’m not a babysitter!” Gabriel said through a mouthful of potatoes._

_Zachariah stared at Gabriel, close to directing his anger towards him._

_After dinner Anna hurried up the stairs and cracked open her cousin's bedroom door. “Seriously? Crowley?” She asked after quietly closing Castiel’s bedroom door, her back pressed against the door._

_Castiel didn’t bother looking up from the copy of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas he swiped from Luke’s room, he simply said, “Seriously.”_

_“Why are you still hanging around with him?” She said as she sat on his bed and crossed her legs._

_“Good weed and better sex,” he said with a small smirk._

_“Ew! Totally didn’t need to know what!” She pushed his book out of his hands._

_“I think I will go see him tonight,” he admitted to her, chewing his lip gently. “I can’t be around Zach anymore. He’s driving me up the wall.”_

_“Really? There isn’t anyone else you can go see? Literally anyone?”_

_“Well,” he said, dragging out the word, then the next word failed to escape his lips._

_Castiel buckled his seat belt when he settled into Anna’s Rav-4, “Thank you for the ride.”_

_“Do I get to meet him?” She asked with a toothy smile, happy that Castiel had found someone he wanted to be with, knowing his breakup with Balthazar in the spring- and Ruby’s death, had shaken him up pretty badly._

_“No,” Castiel said sternly before giving her a glare and turning to face out the window._

“I am not looking forward to seeing him. He’s extremely pissed,” Castiel sighed, running his hand through his hair. 

“He’ll be pissed, but you’ll be going back to school a week later. What’s he gonna do, really?”

Castiel sighed and didn’t answer. Instead Dean said, “I didn’t realize how much of a dick Mike is.”

“Have you met him?” Castiel snorted.

“You’re way different than your brothers,” Dean half-laughed. 

“Thank you.”

Stopped at an intersection Castiel looked to the left, wondering why Dean hadn’t accelerated. Dean’s eyes were locked in a stare at the younger boy, “Dean-” he started to say, but was cut off when Dean’s hand grabbed his chin, and his lips placed over Cas’, parted with unspoken words. The seat belt dug into Dean’s neck, although he pushed through the pain, the reward more than worth it. Castiel was pleasantly surprised and leaned in, eager to feel Dean’s lips once again, it had been far too long, and happily raised his hands to thread through Dean’s hair. Cas’s tongue prodded at Dean’s lips, needing more contact. 

As instantly as it started it was over, the car behind them was laying on the horn, angry at such a long stop. Dean pulled back to his seat before driving away with a laugh, Castiel had a grin plastered to his face.

Upon returning home, Dean quietly shut the front door, wincing as it squeaked. Castiel toed off his boots while Dean added his jacket to the pile of others hanging onto the hook for dear life. 

“What took you so long?” Sam asked, head turned away from the television. 

“We took a leisurely ride,” Dean snipped, helping Cas with his jacket, halfway to the staircase before Sam could respond, Castiel in tow.

“Tomorrow can we-”

“Sure!” Dean said, not paying attention to his brother, much more focused on getting Cas alone.

“Holding you to it!” Sam called after his brother.

Dean’s back was pressed against his bedroom door, cushioned by sweatshirts and towels hanging on the back of the door. His hands were in Castiel’s shaggy hair, tugging slightly, earning a low groan into their mouths. Taking the opportunity, Dean’s tongue slid into Castiel’s open mouth as Cas’s hands moved away from his shoulders to his waist. Fingers gripped tightly into Dean’s soft cotton shirt, desperately pulling it upwards. Dean sucked Cas’s lip into his mouth and nipped, hands slipping down his back, pulling him closer. Castiel bucked his hips into Dean when he felt the nip, then Dean’s hands wandered further to land on denim. His hands squeezed, and pulled him in closer.

“Bed, now,” Dean pulled away and said quietly.

Castiel did not object and hurried over to the twin bed while Dean turned the lock on his door. Cas sat on the edge of the bed, impatiently waiting for Dean. Dean pulled his T-shirt over his head and discarded it while Castiel watched with hunger in his eyes. He carefully eyed Dean’s shirtless chest, not that he hadn’t seen it before- but not in this context.

Dean was, shirtless, kissing Castiel, in his bed. Castiel had thought about this so many times before, but he was finally here.

“You like what you see?” Dean asked just above a whisper as he climbed onto the bed, straddling Castiel’s waist, observing Castiel’s almost ever present stare. Castiel nodded eagerly, looking up at Dean, placing kisses to any bit of skin he could reach- his neck, chest, collarbone. He dragged his hands over Dean’s back as he continued kissing, he kissed up his neck, gently sucking. Dean groaned and gripped his fingers into Cas’s shirt before pulling it off and tossing it somewhere in his room. 

Dean pushed Castiel down, now horizontal, his arms resting on the pillow behind Cas’s head. Castiel’s hands found themselves attempting to unbutton Dean’s jeans as Dean began reciprocating the kisses Castiel had just placed on his neck. 

“Want you,” Castiel panted, out of breath from lips on his sensitive skin.

Dean kissed his way back up to Castiel’s mouth, firmly pressing his lips against the younger boys as Cas shoved his hand down the back of Dean’s jeans. With a fistful of Dean’s ass, Castiel pulled him closer. Dean pulled away suddenly, standing next to his bed to shimmy out of his pants. Castiel began to follow his actions, but stopped to aide Dean in pushing his boxers to the floor while Dean’s hands ran over the denim bulge in the front of Cas’s pants before swiftly unzipping them. Castiel leaned back and lifted his hips off the bed to allow Dean to pull his pants and briefs off. He grabbed Dean by the waist and pulled him back onto the bed, his hands gripped Dean’s hips tightly, pulling him closer. Dean placed his hands in Cas’s hair, kissing him roughly, and bucking his hips, their erections brushing. 

After kissing for a few more minutes, Dean couldn’t take it anymore, he needed more contact. He needed Cas. He pulled away and sat up to pull open the drawer on his nightstand, silently praying that there would be lubricant. He shut the drawer, disappointed and rubbed the back of his neck, “Any chance you brought lube?” He asked quietly.

“No,” Castiel responded with a huff, almost a laugh.

“It’s okay,” Dean instantly scooted lower on the bed and settled on his knees in between Castiel’s legs, grabbing him around the base of his cock before taking him into his mouth, looking up at Cas just in time to see his eyes flutter shut and his mouth open with a low moan.


	22. 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: drug abuse and overdose

The door handle shook violently, and Sam cried out “Dean, wake up, you promised!” before pounding on the door.

Dean groaned and shifted, his right arm tugged out from under the pillow Cas’s head was atop. Castiel yawned and nuzzled his head into the pillow. 

“What?” Dean exclaimed, drawing out the word.

“Wake up!” Sam said from the other side of the door.

“What time is it?” He yawned, retrieving his left arm from around Cas’s torso and sitting up on his side. 

Cas rubbed his eye with his palm and turned so he was on his back, with Dean hovering above him, his green eyes shifting from the alarm clock to Castiel, still nude from the night before. Dean sighed and climbed over Cas to get out of bed, Sam incessantly knocking on the door- he had to be doing it just to annoy Dean. He couldn’t find his boxers from the night before, so he slipped on the first pair of pants he saw before unlocking the door.

“What, Sammy?” 

“Why are you wearing jeans?” He asked with a classic Sam Winchester bitch face. He peered past his brother into the room, Castiel was seated upright in Dean’s bed with a blanket only covering his bottom half. “Uh, nevermind,” he said before turning around and scurrying away down the hall.

“Come on!” Dean exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air, incredibly annoyed that Sam bothered him until he got out of bed, then just took off. He turned around and Cas was running a hand through his messy hair.

“That can’t be comfortable,” Castiel said, gesturing to the denim clad on his lower half.

Dean nodded before he pulled out a new pair of boxers and removed his jeans. Cas stood up and stretched, the blanket falling off his lap. “Breakfast?” Dean asked.

“After a shower,” Castiel said, “go see what Sam wanted.”

After waiting for Dean to go downstairs Cas dug around in his bag and pulled out from underneath a pile of clothes a baggie of pills. He glared at the almost empty bag, only three left, he didn’t know how he was going to make it through his time at the Winchester household, let alone winter break. Castiel gulped down one dry, and started thinking about how he was going to get more, already feeling anxious at the thought of being without something to ease his nerves. He thought maybe Dean had some pot at least, it was worth asking.

Dean begrudgingly drove Sam to the strip mall downtown after he nearly begged his brother, he was dying to spend some of his Christmas money at the comic book store. Sam was already out of Dean’s car, leaving the two behind, when Castiel nodded towards a drug store before telling Dean he would meet up with him soon.

Sam was flipping through the bins, looking for a certain book when the bell above the door jingled, signaling Dean’s arrival. “Dean! Check it out!” He triumphantly pulled the latest edition of Supernatural out of the bin. 

“Is that the one about the guys who hunt monsters?” Dean asked, peering over Sam to look at the comic. 

“Yeah this one just came out, last one Dan went to hell!” Sam grinned before putting the book on the counter. The bell to the store rang, and Castiel appeared, a plastic bag sticking out of one of the pockets on his trench coat. Sam stared at the comic the whole ride home, eager to get reading.

“Do you have any pot?” Castiel blurted out as soon as Sam entered the Winchester house, leaving Dean and Cas behind.

“Uh, you didn’t bring any?” Dean asked, raising an eyebrow. Even while Castiel was here his eyes still had the glazed over, lazy look they always had. Dean wasn’t sure when or how but he assumed Cas was getting high. 

They shucked their coats as Cas said, “I thought it would be rude.”

“So you haven’t been perpetually stoned for once?” Dean raised an eyebrow, that must just be the way Castiel looks. 

Castiel let out a laugh while he pulled the pharmacy bag out of his coat. “No?” He held it close to his chest before saying he had to put it upstairs.

“What did you get?” 

“You’ll find out,” Cas turned around and smirked at Dean, going up to Dean’s room, ready to stash his purchase. He closed Dean’s bedroom door and exhaled, luckily Sam didn’t see the lubricant and condoms in his bag. He debated putting them with his things, but instead decided on putting them in the drawer Dean opened last night. 

Castiel didn’t intend on snooping on Dean, he really didn’t. But when he opened the drawer he couldn’t help himself. The contents seed pretty typical of a 19 year old boy at surface: a couple condoms, a lighter, a porn mag called Busty Asian Beauties, and rolling papers. He shook his head at the magazine and pushed it to the side, a notebook below it. Castiel tentatively picked up the notebook and opened it, it appeared to be a journal of some sort. 

“What are you doing?” Dean’s voice startled Cas, he jumped and blushed deep red. “Were you looking at my porn?”

“Dean I-”

Dean laughed, “I’m just teasing, Cas,” he approached Cas and leaned in close to him, his breath heavy on his ear, “So what did you get that goes in there?” 

“Well you- you said you didn’t have lube,” Castiel stammered, shivers went throughout his entire body from contact of Dean’s breath on his face.

Suddenly Sam called out Dean’s name from the bottom of the stairs, “Does Cas want a grilled cheese too?”

“I’d love one, thank you Sam!” Castiel hollered back with a smirk at Dean as he moved towards the door.

Dean groaned and reached for Castiel’s arm, “The grilled cheese can wait,” he attempted to pull Cas towards him. “We’ll be quiet.”

“Trust me, you won’t be quiet,” Castiel quipped before leaving Dean alone in his room, his mouth dropped open, gaping at the empty doorway.

Mary wished the boys a good night before she went to bed, Castiel was sitting at the kitchen table with Sam, pouring over his industrial revolution project. Dean was lounged in one of the overstuffed chairs in the living room and shouted, “Night mom!” to her before glancing at the clock and noticing it was not even nine yet. He furrowed his brow and when his mom was out of his sight he padded across the room to the kitchen. 

“Does mom seem more tired than usual?” Dean asked quietly as he pulled a glass out of the cabinet to fill with tap water.

“She’s been working a lot of double shifts,” Sam said, carefully measuring letters on a poster board for the visual part of his assignment.

“Is it money?” Dean asked after sitting at the table next to Cas, leaning across the table.

“I don’t think so,” Sam said after a moment of thinking, “I think she said someone’s been out, maternity leave maybe?” He wasn't entirely sure but remembered how nearly half of her coworkers were pregnant when Mary threw the annual Winchester Halloween party.

“Oh, okay. Good,” Dean said, worried that his father had gotten himself into trouble again. A few years ago while at an architecture conference in Vegas John drunkenly gambled away more than he made in a month, putting him and his family out of their comfort zone, and making Mary have to work almost 80 hour weeks for a couple months to help make up for what John had lost.

“Thanks for helping Cas, you’ve been a huge help,” Sam said, looking over the revisions Castiel made to his presentation.

“You’re welcome, anytime Sam,” Castiel smiled as Sam continued to measure the letters.

Dean and Castiel decided to move downstairs to watch TV so it wasn’t distracting to Sam or too noisy and disturb John in his study. Dean grabbed the remote and flopped onto the couch, pulling Cas with him.

“I think Sammy likes you,” Dean said, an arm now wrapped around Cas’ shoulder’s.

“I really like Sam. I understand why you always speak so highly of him,” Castiel said, burrowing his face into the crook of Dean’s neck and inhaling softly.

Dean nodded as he began flipping through the channels and eventually stopped on Friends and glanced at Cas, who seemed happy with the selection and sighed contently. He tilted his head slightly to rest against Castiel’s and closed his eyes to enjoy the moment of peace.

_Darkness faded into bright fluorescent light, laughter echoed down the hallway as Castiel’s shaky hands began picking up his papers from the dirty linoleum floor. “Pathetic isn’t it?” A girl said, black boots stopped in front of the scattered notes. He didn’t look up, he feared tears would spill out if he didn’t clench his eyes shut as he continued picking up his things. “Can’t they pick on someone their own size?” She said, one of her knees planted on the ground, slim hands aided in retrieving the notes. She extended her hand, the papers in a messy pile, “You’re in my homeroom, uh, Castiel, right?” He wearily pulled the papers from her hand and slowly nodded. “Ruby.”_

_“Thank you, Ruby,” he said with a small smile, he looked up, tears still pricking at his eyes._

_The laughter subsided and was replaced by Nirvana playing at an increasingly louder volume, not exceeding a volume so that he could still hear a voice. “Ruby that’s- it’s- I can’t believe-” He stuttered, and moved his hand from in front of his eyes and uncovered them to the sight of his best friend, sitting on her bed, an arm wrapped around her upright knee._

_She laughed, “Close your mouth, you look like a trout.”_

_Castiel squirmed in the over sized bean bag uncomfortably, he was suddenly hyper aware of how his body felt in that moment. He looked at his hands for too long, he thought about how weird they looked. “What’s so crazy about it? It’s a win-win for everyone. You and Bal will get to spend more time together, no one gets suspicious. My parents get off my back. It’s perfect, I can’t believe I didn’t think of this sooner!”_

_He tried to shrink into the bean bag, anything to escape this conversation, but he prayed he would be devoured by the damn thing, . “I don’t know, Ruby, this seems like a bad idea.”_

_“No, no, no trust me. This will work,” she got up off the bed and kneeled in front of Castiel, “Castiel, will you be my fake boyfriend?” She took his hands, prompting him to finally stop staring at them and look up into her brown eyes._

_Her brown eyes, warm and inviting, blinked shut and reopened, the spark behind her eyes vanished, looking at him with emptiness. Castiel’s hands shook, one of them raising to her clammy cheek, he tapped gently, her skin cool. “Ruby!” He called, tapping impatiently on her cheek, trying to wake her up. “Bal!” He screamed, “Bal!” he untied the scarf from her forearm, yanking the needle out of the crease of her elbow. He grabbed her wrist, felt the weight of her arm as he desperately searched for a pulse._

_“Shit,” Balthazar exclaimed from behind Castiel, his footsteps stomping down the hall and the stairs. “I need an ambulance,” Castiel heard before he tuned him out, focusing on his friend. He grabbed her shoulders and pulled her head into his lap, his hands gently cupped her face, he bent down to place his forehead against hers, so unbearably, unnaturally cold. He sobbed loudly, patting her brown hair, “No, no, no, no, no. Ruby, Please,” he pleaded. Balthazar threw himself down next to Castiel, one arm wrapped around Castiel’s back, the other supporting Ruby’s shoulders._

_“They’ll help her, she’ll be okay. You’ll be okay, we’ve got you,” Balthazar cooed with a broken sob, holding his step sister’s hand in his._

With a gasp Castiel shot up, nearly knocking Dean out of the bed, “Cas?” He asked, Castiel’s chest heaving, sweat dripping down his face, he placed a shaking hand over his chest. “Cas, you okay?”

“Nightmare,” he exhaled loudly, “I-I need a minute,” he flung the blankets off him and Dean, and climbed over Dean’s legs, stumbling when he hit the floor, desperately searching for pants or boxers. 

His hands pressed into the cool bathroom counter top, he tried deep breathing to even out his heavy breaths. His hands turned on the faucet, then cupped them beneath the cold stream and splashed his face a couple times. Castiel looked into the mirror, staring at his reflection, trying to wake up and shake the images of Ruby’s lifeless body out of his mind. He licked his lips and ran his wet hands through his hair. He paused for a moment before opening the medicine cabinet, orange pill bottles caught his eye, grabbing each one and inspecting the labels. He needed something, anything to take the edge off, to take the pain away, to forget what he saw. He didn’t really care what it was, but when he saw “take as needed for pain” he hurriedly opened the bottle, tossing two into his mouth before placing his mouth under the faucet. He wiped the water off his mouth and closed his eyes, working on steadying his breathing. 

“You ‘kay?” Dean asked, his eyes closed, half asleep when Castiel got back into bed. 

“Yes, Dean, I’m okay,” Castiel said softly, wrapping his arms around Dean’s middle and holding him close. “I’m okay.”


	23. 23

“Aren’t we kind of cramping his style?” Castiel quietly asked Dean, eyeing Sam and Jess a few feet away, admiring the display of figurines building a pyramid.

Dean snorted, “Sam doesn’t have any style.”

“You know what I mean,” Castiel rolled his eyes as Dean glanced over at his brother, towering over the much smaller blonde. Dean wondered how sore her neck must be from gazing up at his brothers goofy smile. “Why don’t we leave them alone?” Castiel suggested.

“Yeah you’re right,” Dean said, stuffing his hands into his pockets and turning away from the model pharaoh. “Maybe he will finally make a move.”

“Why does he have to? They seem like great friends,” Castiel said, Dean waving at his brother to signal their moving on. Sam just waved his hand at Dean, clearly waving him away from him and Jess.

“He’s been pining after this girl for years, he’s crazy about her,” Dean said as they left the ancient Egypt room.

“And she doesn’t know?” Castiel asked as they walked closer together to get past a tour group, their hands brushing and he could have sworn he felt Dean’s hand gently squeeze his own.

“Doesn’t seem like it, I just wish the kid would grow a pair and tell her.”

“He’s probably nervous, telling someone how you feel about them for the first time is very nerve wracking,” he spoke quietly so he wouldn’t disturb the tour guide’s lecture on Mesopotamia.

“You were nervous?” Dean asked with a smirk.

“Yes, Dean, of course I was nervous. Weren’t you?”

“I wasn’t nervous, I just wanted to make sure you felt the same,” Dean quipped, attempting to assert his manhood by acting like he wasn’t nervous to kiss Cas for the first time.

“You were nervous,” Castiel said, turning to Dean who was a light shade of pink, “And you still are. But I find it endearing. It means you care,” he smiled sweetly at Dean who just smiled back and tried to cover his blush with a cough before he tired to make room in the isle for the exiting tour group. “We haven’t really discussed, uh, us,” Castiel said when the group left and they were the only ones in the room about ancient cultures.

“A, jeez, Cas,” Dean groaned, running a hand over his hair and looking at art on the wall. “Do we have to?”

Castiel stood next to Dean and said, “We don’t need to talk about our feelings,” he bumped his shoulder into Dean with a knowing smirk, causing Dean to glance over at him with a curious look in his eyes. “But I just want us to be on the same page, are you sleeping with anyone else?”

Dean shook his head, “No, I haven’t in a couple months. Are you?” He silently hoped he would say he wasn’t.

“No, and I don’t want to.”

“Me too,” Dean nodded before adding, “so good talk, Cas,” Dean clapped him on the back with a smile before walking away from the art, looking for something more interesting to look at.

Castiel chuckled, knowing Dean was not one for talking about his feelings but accepted him for who he is, and wouldn’t change that for the world. He was okay without the discussion about their relationship, he just wanted to make sure they were in agreement that they were exclusively seeing each other, especially as his feelings towards Dean grew. “Is there a section on local history? I’d love to learn more about your hometown.”

"My hometown? Aren't you from Lawrence?"

"No, my family lives in Prairie Village. We lived in Lawrence briefly when I was a child, but I don't remember much of it."

“Huh, I just always assumed you lived in Lawrence. I think they have a local history section” Dean said, his eyes squinted in thought before walking over to the map on the wall near the door, “Yeah, it’s upstairs,” Dean pointed to the map.

“Lead the way,” Castiel extended his arm towards the doorway signaling for the older boy to go in that direction.

Dean walked out of the ancient cultures room and wandered to the main lobby, then up the large wooden staircase. 

“This museum is beautiful,” Castiel observed, admiring the hand carved details in the banister, and gazing up at the stained glass window above the main entrance. 

Dean nodded, “This building used to be the mayor’s house, way back when.”

“That doesn’t surprise me, it looks like it could be someone’s home.”

“Here it is,” Dean said, stopping in front of the large scale replica of the town when it was founded.

“Fascinating,” Cas said, reading an old newspaper clipping. “History is so interesting.”

“I guess,” Dean said, “you really find this interesting?” He said as he approached Castiel from behind. 

“Yes, history is full of interesting stories, it’s a marvel how far civilization has come. I enjoy seeing how life as we know it evolved. Modern medicine, plumbing, engineering. It’s fascinating, Dean. You don’t think so?” He turned to face Dean as he asked his question.

“I like cool history, ya know, gladiators, pirates-”

“Violent history,” Castiel interrupted.

“I guess,” Dean shrugged.

“There’s so much more to humanity than violence and murder, Dean. There’s love, there’s the unknown of exploration, art and science. Humanity is curious, it’s so unique to anything else in this world.”

“Wow, Cas, I had no idea you were a philosopher,” Dean said sarcastically as he glanced to the stairs where Sam and Jess appeared, holding hands with shy smiles on their faces. “Hey, look,” he nodded to his brother and smiled.

Castiel gave an approving nod with a smile and nudged Dean, “See, he just needed some time to show her his true feelings,” he turned to Dean and gave him a pleased smile, secretly hoping this could give Dean the confidence boost he needed to come to terms with his fear of emotions.

“Dean, Cas, hey!” Sam said as he made his way over to his brother, his fingers laced with Jess’. 

“Heya, Sammy, you two kids having fun?” Dean asked, glancing at their intertwined fingers and winked. Sam blushed deeply and squeezed her hand.

“Yeah, but Jess needs to be home for dinner,” he said sadly.

“Alright then nerds, let’s get outta here,” Dean said, causing Sam to roll his eyes and exchanged a glance with Cas, who scoffed at Dean’s comment.

“You heard him nerds,” Jess said with a giggle and poked Sam in the arm, Sam laughed and wrapped his arm around her shoulder and led her down the stairs, glancing behind him to smile at his brother.

“They’re sweet,” Cas said with a smile, following behind the two teenagers, Dean put an arm around Castiel’s shoulders and gently knocked their heads together before pulling away despite wanting to linger. Castiel sighed when Dean pulled away, wishing him and Dean would be able to show their affections in public- he knew Dean was not ready for that, but he hoped someday he would be.

*

Campus Pizza’s delivery driver called out yet again, and Dean complained about it from the second he got off the phone at nine in the morning until he left for work at eleven. Castiel wished him a good day and Dean mumbled something about it being good if he doesn’t kill anyone. Sam laughed and shook his head before eagerly asking Cas, “So what should we do today?”

Castiel and Sam retreated downstairs to play Nintendo, and while Sam was powering it up Castiel asked what classes he was taking for the second half of the year.

Sam looked up to the ceiling while he thought, it had been so long since he filled out his elective choices. “Most of my classes will be the same as the ones in the fall but I chose ceramics and Spanish three for my electives.”

“Spanish three? That’s quite impressive.”

Sam shrugged, “They say colleges like to see at least three years of a language,” he passed a controller to Cas before settling in next to him on the couch.

“Even without you’re an excellent candidate for Stanford, I’m sure you will get in,” Castiel assured him, knowing Sam worked incredibly hard for his dream of attending Stanford and becoming a lawyer.

“Thanks, Cas, but I still need to bust my ass, I can’t get lazy, even next year. Colleges can retract your admission if your grades slip.”

“I know they can, but I think you need to cut yourself some slack, you’re a very smart young man and you’re going to do great things, Sam.”

Sam smiled, “Thanks, Cas. You’re a great friend.”

Castiel smiled and looked down at his controller, “You’re a great friend, too.”

After they made it to the next level Sam said, “Hey Cas, can I ask you something?”

“Of course,” he set the controller down on the couch next to him.

“I know I joke about you being Dean’s boyfriend, but are you?”

Castiel gulped, “What has your brother said about that?”

“He hasn’t, but you two seem really close. Like the way Jess and I are. And the way he talks about, he really likes you. You’re important to him.”

“He’s very important to me, and I care about Dean very much,” Castiel said fondly. 

“So you are his boyfriend?”

“I think that’s a conversation you should have with your brother. I don’t know,” Castiel said, “I don’t know what Dean,” he trailed off then said, “I’m sorry Sam, I think it is his decision who he shares the matters of his personal life with, I wouldn’t want to say something he doesn’t want people knowing about.” He had answered Sam’s question without really answering it, but Sam seemed satisfied and did not press further, instead he just resumed the game and they continued the level.


	24. 24

#### New Years Eve 7:24PM

Mary wasn’t stupid. She liked to think she knew her oldest son pretty well, and she certainly knew when he was acting out of the ordinary. Out of the ordinary wasn’t necessarily a bad thing- like the way Dean smiled more. Or the way he came home from school talking incessantly about a new friend. Or how Dean’s closeness to his friend Cas was different than the closeness he had with any of his other friends. Mary was starting to put the pieces together. Her son was clearly crazy for this Castiel boy. Not that she minded of course, Castiel was a sweet, polite young man who she noticed was constantly staring at her son. On a number of occasions when Mary walked into the same room as Dean and Castiel, it seemed like they would adjust themselves, as if moving away from each other. 

Mary pretended not to notice the lingering eyes or touches of the hand when they thought no one was looking. If Mary brought it up she was sure it would just push Dean away from him. He would quiet, avert his eyes and pretend like they were just acquaintances. Dean was shy with romantic relationships, from what Mary had seen- not that she knew what he did away at school (she really didn’t want to think about that). At least with Lisa he was; Dean pinned for her for years but once he finally had her he seemed to tiptoe around, afraid the slightest mistake would drive her away. Mary had made the mistake of talking to him about relationships before, and she certainly did not want to do anything to possibly drive away Castiel.

As she and John prepared to leave for the Singer-Harvelle’s party she hovered in the living room doorway, “Dean, will you help me with the food?”

“I can help too,” Castiel stood up, prepared to follow them into the kitchen.

“No, sweetie, we’re okay, really,” she waved him off, urging him to relax and make Dean do the work. Mary shoved a casserole dish in Dean’s hands and grabbed a shopping bag as they made their way outside.

“Your father and I will be gone all night, I don’t want anyone driving, it’s dangerous,” she said, shutting the front door behind them to prevent the cold from seeping inside.

“I know, mom. No one drives,” Dean said, rolling his eyes, he knew his parents rules by now.

At the car Dean placed the dish on the back seat and his mom placed her hand on his shoulder, “I’m not trying to pry, but-”

Dean groaned, knowing that starting a sentence that way foreshadowed some kind of prying, especially when it came from a parent. 

“I know what’s going on with you and Cas,” she glanced towards the house, “and I want you to know that I love you very much. I’m happy for you, for both of you-”

“Mom stop,” Dean ran his hands over his face, feeling his skin flush red.

“Dean, I just want you to know I support you.”

“I know you do mom,” he avoided her gaze and turned his attention to the front door, for once hoping his father would open it up and end this conversation.

“And I hope you’re being safe-”

“Okay, we are not having this conversation,” Dean sternly put his hands out in front of him and walked away from the car.

When Dean re-entered his house he closed the door and sighed before shaking his head. He felt his mom gently squeeze his shoulder when she came back inside for her purse and to say goodbye, the touch lingering for a moment while John put on his coat.

Castiel looked at Dean sadly, he knew this was his last night away at the Winchester’s. Gabriel and Anna were coming over for the New Year’s party and were going to bring him back to the Adler household. Not only was he anxious about seeing Zachariah, he didn’t want to leave Dean. After spending the past week with Dean; sharing a bed, being around him nearly 24/7; Castiel was not looking forward to going back home where Dean was not there. Luckily it would only be another week after that until they would all return to campus. Where he and Dean would have to continue sneaking around Gabriel, because they really did not need Gabriel to interfere.

Dean flopped onto the couch next to Castiel, his arm draped around his shoulders, wanting some time to chill before their friends arrived. Sam was seated in the dining room, quietly working on homework before winter break ended. “So you’re leaving tomorrow, huh?” Dean asked Cas, turning his head to speak into his ear.

Castiel nodded slowly, “Out of the frying pan into the fire.”

“You’ll be alright, you can call at any time. Or I can always come by,” Dean smiled.

“Zachariah doesn’t like company,” Castiel almost snorted, remembering how much he hated when Cas brought Ruby home despite her always being a perfect guest. Her reputation was just that; a reputation; she put up a tough mean face for everyone at school, it was cliche but she was just misunderstood. And Zachariah even liked Ruby, Castiel had no idea what his uncle would think of Dean, and he really didn’t want to find out.

Dean groaned loudly when Sam finished his homework and asked if they could order a pizza before their friends came over. “Dude I work at a pizza shop! We have pizza at least once a week!” He had a tendency to bring home leftover food that was never picked up, or the individual slices abandoned under the heater. After smelling it all shift, eating it was the last thing Dean wanted to do. But when Sam asked and gave Dean his pleading puppy eyes, Dean was unable to say no, and just mumbled under his breath before picking up the phone. 

Conveniently Jo and Ash showed up just moments after the food arrived, they let themselves in and Jo announced, “You got us pizza? You’re too kind."

Dean rolled his eyes and lazily smacked the lid to the pizza box, making it flap open. “I should’ve known you guys would come over scavenging.”

Ash immediately dove in and helped himself to a slice, pushing Dean out of his way with his shoulder in the process. “Where’s the beer at?” He asked, plopping down into a chair next to Sam. “I’d have bought but,” he paused, “you know.”

“You attract cops like roadkill attracts flies,” Jo said before jumping up onto the counter.

Sam looked across the kitchen with a disgusted expression, while Dean proceeded to burst out laughing. “It’s true,” he laughed in between breaths.

“My brother is bringing liquor,” Castiel said, ignoring Jo’s comment. 

Sam continued to looks disgusted, staring at his pizza as if it was covered in mold, “Thanks Jo, now I can’t get that image out of my head,” he murmured, pushing the plate away from him.

#### 8:39PM

Anna pulled Castiel into a big hug, they only had a few weeks together over break until she drove him to hide out at the Winchesters, she missed him terribly after their first semester apart. “Castiel, how have you been?”

“I’ve been very good, Anna. How are things, how are you?” Castiel asked, holding her away at arms length.

“I’m okay, things are,” she paused, “tense.”

Castiel grimaced, feeling responsible for the tension at the house he quickly abandoned. “I’m sorry, it was selfish of me to take off and leave you and Gabriel to deal with the mess.”

“It’s not that bad, it’s been worse,” she forced a small smile. “But we’re here to have fun tonight, we will deal with him tomorrow.”

He smiled, “You’re right, let’s have some fun. I want you to meet Dean,” he turned around to see where Dean wandered off to. When he found him in the kitchen, Castiel gently placed a hand on his shoulder, “Dean this is Anna.”

Dean turned around, a beer bottle pulled away from his lips, and greeted the redhead. 

“Nice work,” she gently nudged her cousin with her elbow and a mischievous expression on her face. His face turned a bright shade of pink and Dean smirked before he said, “I’ll let you guys catch up,” with a wink before taking a sip of his drink and walking across the room.

“Please tell me you brought weed,” Cas said to his brother, he had insisted Dean ask Gabe to bring Cas’s stash with him, he was desperate for it, he had felt so on edge and tense in a way he had not felt before. It scared him, yesterday he had split his last pill in half to get more time, and now that it was gone Castiel needed something to calm him down.

“Yes baby bro, I brought your pot,” Gabriel pulled a baggie out of his jeans pocket and tossed it to his brother, pausing from filling the fridge with beers. 

Immediately after catching the baggie Castiel trotted up the stairs, impatient to retrieve the rolling papers he found in Dean’s bedside table. 

Castiel and his brother sat atop a small brick wall in the backyard. “So,” Gabriel said, drawing out the vowel, earning a raised eyebrow from his brother.

“What?” He exhaled, holding the joint out to his brother. 

“Well you got into a fight with Zach and came running off to Dean’s.”

“I didn’t want to put up with his shit all break,” Castiel shrugged.

“Come on bro,” Gabriel exclaimed, putting the joint to his lips and inhaling deeply. “You guys aren’t fooling anyone.”

Castiel shook his head, averting his eyes to the ground. “Gabriel it’s-”

“Don’t say it’s not like that, because i know it is exactly like that. You don’t need to hide from me, Cassie. You’re my brother, Dean’s my best friend, I’m happy for you two!” He reached over and shook his brother gently with a goofy grin.

“Thank you Gabriel, it means a lot.”

“ But if I hear or see you two in bed, you’re paying for my therapy!” Gabriel waved the joint in his brother’s general direction.

Castiel’s cheeks turned almost as red as his eyes while his brother laughed again. “I’m going inside.” 

He stood up, Gabriel protesting, “No, Cassie, come on!” Castiel just turned back with a final glare, a smile playing on his lips before going back inside.

Now, sufficiently stoned, Castiel felt more at ease to enjoy himself at the party. It wasn’t a wild party by any means- not even a fraction of the amount of crazy as the Halloween party, but he still felt a deal of anxiety over being around so many people. As he walked up the basement stairs to the main living space he could feel the railing vibrate slightly with the bass from the speakers blasting above him. He felt guilty for leaving Anna alone while him and his brother were outside smoking, leaving her with complete strangers so he hurried his steps, eager to rejoin her.

Anna was perched on the edge of the love seat in the living room, a cup in her hand and a wide smile on her face. While Castiel retrieved a beer from the fridge he felt the guilt in his stomach wither away, a small smile on his lips. “Hello, Anna,” he greeted, standing next to her before cracking open the can.

“Your Dean is quite fun,” Anna giggled, leaning towards her cousin and tilting her head in the direction of Dean, “I can see why you like him.”

Castiel nodded slowly, his eyes drifting to Dean, laughing at something Jo said. “Yes, he is fun,” a smile shone through to his lips.

A few groans sounded after Castiel heard an unfamiliar voice suggest a game.

“What kind of game?” Jo asked, Benny’s arm snaked around her shoulders.

“A party game?” 

“Well duh,” she retorted.

“Like never have I ever?” Sam quipped, earning a snort from his older brother, then shot a glare in Dean’s direction. Dean rolled his eyes, thinking that Sam just wanted any excuse to flirt with Jess.

“The only game I’m playing is a drinkin’ game!” Dean exclaimed.

“A game?” Gabriel exclaimed. “Kings or bust!” He announced as he entered the room.

“Now that’s a game!” Ash agreed, extending his hand that was gripped around a beer and pointed his finger at Gabe.

“Kings it is!” Dean shouted, pumping his beer into the air before announcing he was going to find a deck of cards.

“What’s Kings?” Sam asked.

“A drinking game. Don’t play if you can’t keep up,” he warned as he turned to Sam and his friends.

Kevin, Sam’s friend from SAT prep looked wide eyed at Sam and Jess, who looked at each other and shrugged.

Jess and Kevin decided to watch before they made the commitment to play, but Sam joined in after Ash explained the rules, wanting to show his brother he’s grown up and can handle it. 

Jo started the game, picked up her card, showing it to everyone, “Six. Chicks,” before taking a drink and stuffing it under the tab of the beer can in the middle of their circle. Anna followed Jo in taking a sip.

Just shy of a third of the cards remained untouched when the tab of the beer can opened and Castiel was the unlucky soul who had to chug the beer. He wiped the remaining beer from his mouth with his sweater sleeve and hiccuped. Directly to his right was Dean, who quickly replaced the can with a new one and drew his card to continue the game. 

“Jack, here’s your never have I ever,” Dean winked to Sam as everyone raised three fingers. “Alright, never have I ever,” he paused to think for a moment, “Been in a three way.”

Gabriel was the only one who drank and put a finger down, “And you’re surprised by this?” He exclaimed.

Next to Dean was Jo, “Never have I ever left the U.S.”

“That’s no fun,” Gabriel whined, before drinking and putting another finger down. “This is almost over, guys!” Before wagging his remaining finger- his middle one. Castiel, Garth, Anna also took their first drinks. “Alright, I’ve never,” he drew out the ‘r’, “kissed someone of the same sex,” he smirked, knowing he would get his brother and Dean with this one.

Dean rolled his eyes and let down one of his fingers. Castiel also put one of his down, with his face slightly pink. When Gabriel saw his sister take a drink his mouth dropped open, but he didn’t comment on it.

Jo mouthed _“What?”_ to her brother after his finger went down, who just shrugged and took a drink.

Garth said, “Never have I ever gotten tattoo.” Ash put down another finger.

“I’ve never put it in the butt,” Ash announced proudly, “or taken it in the butt,” while Dean and Castiel both put down their fingers and take their sips.

“Ew, Dean, that’s gross,” Sam’s face crinkled with disgust, all three of his fingers up. 

“Cassie is the winner for biggest slut, or whatever!” Gabriel announced, earning a glare from his youngest brother. “Well that was fun, don’t we all know each other so much better now?”

#### 2:17PM

“So this is our las’ night before you go home,” Dean said, his hands wrapping around Cas’s hips, lacing his fingers around his back when they finally closed the door to Dean’s bedroom, leaving them alone.

“Wish I didn’t ‘ave to,” Cas slurred, swaying closer to Dean.

“We’ll be back at school soon,” Dean said hopefully.

“Can’t come soon enough,” Castiel rested his chin on Dean’s shoulder before turning to face Dean’s neck so he could place small kisses along it. Dean groaned at the sensation and wrapped his arms tighter, pulling their bodies closer together.

“Wanted to kiss you at midnight,” Dean admitted, his eyes closed as Cas continued kissing his neck, nibbling at his collarbone.

“Why di’nt you?” Castiel said as he pulled away from Dean’s neck to pull his shirt up over his head and tossing it aside.

Dean shrugged, “Then everyone would know.” 

Castiel’s hands stopped running up and down Dean’s sides so he could look at him a moment. “You don’t want ‘em to know?”

“Do you?” Dean asked, rubbing his thumb along the small of Castiel’s back.

“Not Michael, or Zach.”

“But Jo? Sammy? Our friends?”

“Charlie knows, she’s pro’ly told Jo by now,” Castiel waved a hand in the air carelessly. 

“Okay, um, my mom does too.”

Castiel laughed quietly, “Cat’s outta the bag,” before he pulled Dean in for a kiss. He cupped his hand under Dean’s chin and hummed happily into the kiss, making Dean moan from the sensation on his lips, opening them just enough so Cas could easily slide his tongue into his mouth. The hands around Cas’s back slipped lower, caressing his ass and pulling him in closer. When they pulled away for air Dean took the opportunity to explore Cas’s neck, his lips sloppily kissed down his chin, over his Adam’s apple and made their way to Castiel’s ear, sucking on the lobe. Castiel closed his eyes and gasped at the sensation, Dean giving his ear a curious nip before Cas’s hands gripped tighter into Dean’s shirt that he wanted off now.

Instead of waiting for Cas, Dean pulled back and ripped his shirt over his head before grabbing him by the waist and pulling him over to the bed, the two collapsing onto it. Castiel looked up at Dean, who was now straddling his waist, his jeans looking uncomfortably tight in the front. Without hesitation, Castiel sat up enough to pull his shirt off and then focus on freeing Dean from his denim prison. He pulled down Dean’s boxer briefs with his pants before Dean began tugging at Castiel’s, desperate to pull them down. 

Their lips crashed together again as Dean bucked his hips into Castiel, needing more friction. Cas’s hand wrapped around Dean, lazily stroking him as they continued kissing, wet and desperate and messy.

“Cas, fuck me,” Dean practically whined after Cas nipped roughly at his bottom lip.

Castiel didn’t have to be told twice, he sat up to pull open the drawer where he stashed the lube as Dean laid down on his stomach.

“I’ve been waiting so long t’ do this,” Castiel said as he kneeled in between Dean’s legs and coated his pointer and middle fingers in lube.

“Me too,” Dean groaned when he felt Castiel’s finger pressed against him and began pushing inside him. He moaned into the pillow when Cas pushed it all the way in and began to stroke Dean from inside. “More,” Dean ordered after a minute, Cas immediately added a second finger and began to pump his fingers in and out, watching Dean shift his hips to meet Castiel’s pace and let out a low, “Fuck.”

“Dean, you’re so beautiful,” Castiel said, leaning down to place kisses along Dean’s back as he slowly inserted a third finger.

“Cas, I want you,” Dean groaned, tilting his head back to look at Castiel before passing him the lube and condom on the table.

Castiel pulled out his fingers before rolling the condom down his length and squeezing the lubricant onto himself, making sure he was coated well. Dean pushed his knees and elbows into the mattress to lift his ass in the air more, ready for Castiel. Castiel settled between his legs, lined himself up and he started pushing inside Dean.

Dean gasped as he felt Castiel bottom out inside him, dropping his head. The younger boy paused for a moment, letting Dean adjust to the size before he began to slowly pull out, then push back in. “Cas,” Dean moaned, finally getting to feel Castiel inside him, after all these months of wanting and wondering, he finally had the real thing.

Castiel took Dean’s moans as a sign to speed up, he held him by the hips as he increased his pace, letting out small grunts of pleasure. Dean used one of his hands to wrap around his cock, red from being so hard, and began stroking himself as Castiel continued to fuck into him. “Dean, I’m close,” Castiel said, his eyes closed and his pace sped up, Dean stroked himself faster to catch up with Cas, who let out a low groan and thrust harder into Dean one last time. Dean continued touching himself with Cas still inside him until he came all over his sheets and himself. 

After Castiel pulled out, Dean collapsed, with Cas joining him shortly after he removed the condom. Dean extended his arm to wrap around Castiel, pulling him closer as he closed his eyes, drifting off to sleep.

#### 10:57 AM

Gabriel came up behind Dean and clapped him on the back roughly and leaned in to hover just above Dean’s ear. “You hurt Cassie, I’ll kick your ass. I don’t give a shit you’re my best friend, I’ll kick your fucking ass,” he warned.

Dean froze, staring at his cup of coffee and gulped, “Understood.”

In the car Gabriel looked in the rear view mirror at his brother, curled up in the backseat nursing his hangover. “I can’t believe you told Anna before me!” He exclaimed, starting the engine.

“She’s,” he paused, staring out the window, “easier to talk to about that sort of thing.”

“I’ve been trying to get you and Dean-O together since October and I’m the last friggin’ person to find out!” Gabe exclaimed, turning around to look at his brother.

“You what?”

“You heard me! I’ve been trying to get you two chuckle-heads together since October!” He threw his hands in the air, off of the steering wheel.

“Gabe!” Anna warned her brother to put his hands back on the wheel, he obliged and shook his head.

“So you did steal my keys on Halloween!” Castiel sat up, pointing an accusing finger at his brother.

“Yes! So you’d have to crash in our room. I stayed at the frat and slept on the floor so you two would have some alone time.”

“That’s absurd, Gabriel,” Castiel said, shaking his head.

“Well you boneheads are too damn stubborn to admit it yourselves, I was just giving you a push in the right direction.”

“Were you leaving us alone at every possible moment on purpose?”

“Duh! Trying to get you two to talk about your feelings or whatever. Don’t say I never did anything for you!”


	25. 25

Gabriel passed his brother a joint before he said, “You better not still be buying pot from Crowley.”

Castiel inhaled, then after he blew out smoke said, “Just pot Gabriel,” he handed it back to him.

“Until it’s coke and you disappear for a days at a time,” Gabriel snipped.

Cas sighed loudly, “Just pot I promise,” he looked out the window of Gabe’s car and stared at the iced over lake they were parked beside. 

“If I find out you’re going over to Crowley’s I will personally tell Zach and he will make sure you never see him again.”

“I need it-”

“Then buy it from someone else. You could throw a rock on the quad and hit someone who smokes,” Gabe said, throwing his arms in the air for emphasis.

Castiel rolled his eyes but promised his brother he wouldn’t see Crowley anymore. He knew Dean also didn’t want him seeing Crowley, but he has been friends with him since he first became friends with Ruby. Crowley was really his last connection to Ruby- he and Balthazar drifted apart and eventually broke up a few months after the death of Bal's step sister. Castiel really did not want all connection to her slip away, he needed something to hold onto that had some of her. Every time he looked into Crowley’s eyes he could see so much of Ruby in him. They had nearly identical laughs, the same sarcastic tone, and you could feel their power radiating. Whenever he saw Crowley it almost felt like he was with her again.

After Gabriel and Castiel finished the joint and sat in silence for a few minutes Gabriel declared he was hungry, “Burgers?” He grinned at his brother, nodding his head.

Cas smiled wide, forgetting lingering thoughts about Crowley and Ruby, and rested a hand on his stomach, “You read my mind.”

Full of burgers and fries, Gabriel and Castiel made their way back home and Gabe promptly fell asleep on the couch. Anna left for Chicago the day before, now Castiel only had a couple days before he and his brothers drove back to campus. He decided to close himself in his room to avoid Michael and opened a book.

After what felt like hours there was a loud knock on his door before Zachariah stuck his head into the door. “Castiel.”

“Zachariah,” he said, peering over his book briefly but not giving him his full attention.

“You have been avoiding me since you got back from your friends house.”

“Michael too,” Castiel quipped.

“Enough with the attitude, Castiel. You can’t go run off to your friends every time you are upset.”

Castiel sighed and closed his book, “I’m upset because you still think I am a child who needs constant supervision.”

“Just because you’re 18 that doesn’t make you an adult, Castiel. Your actions do. And if you aren’t going to act like an adult I am not going to treat you like one.”

“I am not some little robot like Michael who blindly abides to your every whim!”

“I’m not asking you to. I want you to think about the consequences of your actions. You keep hanging around with characters like Crowley and you’re going to end up like Lucas. Is that what you want, Castiel?”

“I’ve heard it enough from Gabriel,” Castiel rolled his eyes.

“Good. And you’re going to keep hearing it until you understand,” Zachariah pointed a finger at him, then motioned like he was going to exit his room but paused and turned his head slightly towards Castiel. “What happened with Luke was tragic, but it was his choice and I’ll be damned if another one of my kids chooses that same path.” 

Once Castiel heard the door click shut behind Zachariah he muttered, “We’re not your kids,” before turning back to his book, staring at it for a while, too distracted to focus.

After the Winchester men had a dinner of boxed macaroni and cheese- because Mary was working late and John didn’t know that until after he got home from work- Dean and Sam retired to the basement as they had done almost every night since Dean came home for break. Sam held a pile of Spanish flashcards in his lap while Dean flipped through the channels, uninterested and appearing a bit more down than usual. 

“What’s wrong? Sad your boyfriend’s gone?” Same quipped after noticing Dean had just passed a channel with a women’s swimwear ad without pausing to check out the models as he usually did.

Dean just grunted in reply and eventually gave up changing the channels when he realized he went full circle and was back on what he started.

“So Cas is your boyfriend!” Sam exclaimed quietly.

“Sammy!” Dean held a finger up in warning.

“Dean it’s okay! You don’t need to be ashamed. Cas is awesome!”

Dean signed and looked over at his brother who had a grin on his face, “I’m not ashamed, and shut up will ya, I’m trying to watch,” he paused and turned to the television, “this,” he waved his hand at the screen.

“I knew it!” He stared at his brother for another minute, Dean knew he was watching him and turned to face his brother.

“What? I knew you want to say something, so just say it.”

“Do mom and dad know?”

“Mom does. Dad doesn’t, and I’m not sure I want him to know yet,” Dean said honestly, he really wasn’t sure how his father would react. John certainly liked Cas, there was no doubt about that, but Dean really had no idea how he would take news that Dean and Castiel were seeing each other. The last time John Winchester had checked Dean dated women, and Cas was _definitely_ not a woman.

Sam just nodded, understanding. “Mom was okay with him sleeping in your room all week?”

Dean shrugged, “I guess. Well she didn’t say anything about her knowing until New Years Eve.”

“Are you guys serious?” Sam asked after a few moments of silence.

“I don’t know, Sam. We just agreed the other day we aren’t seeing other people.”

“Are you gay now?”

“Jesus, Sammy, what’s with the third degree?” Dean threw his hands in the air for exaggeration. “And no, I’m not gay.”

“Wait, on New Years when we played never have I ever and Ash said-”

“Night Sammy!” Dean exclaimed, knowing where that was going and shot off the couch, ignoring the rest of his brothers sentence. As he ascended to the top of the stairs the phone started ringing, “Got it!” He called out so John wouldn’t have to get off the couch.

“Hello?” He answered.

“Dean, it’s nice to hear your voice,” Castiel said through the phone.

“Cas! Hey, buddy, did you miss me already?” Dean asked with a half smirk.

“Very much so.”

“How’s things with Zach?” He asked, trying to keep things neutral when his father was just in the other room.

Castiel sighed, “Fine. He’s unhappy with me but it’s because he doesn’t want to see me turn out like Luke. I can see that he does have my best interest in mind.”

“Well I don’t want you to either,” Castiel sighed again, and Dean said, “It’s way worse when they’re disappointed, huh?”

“Yes, it is.”

Dean chuckled, “He’ll get over it. You were gone a few days and you’re fine.”

“I suppose you’re right, he will get over it. I just don’t understand why Michael started this whole disaster.”

“I never realized he was such a dick.”

“Yes, he is a dick.”

Dean laughed at hearing him curse Michael. “We’ll be back at school in a few days, then you can stay as far away from him as you want.”

“Trust me, I intend on doing so.”


	26. 26

#### Sunday 12:28 PM

After returning to school for the Spring semester Dean was disappointed to discover Gabriel wasn’t at the dorm- meaning Cas also wasn’t back yet. But he took advantage of being alone and blasted Led Zeppelin as he unpacked his things, singing along loudly until a knock sounded at his door. Dean, Benny and Jo left for the dining hall minutes later and found it practically empty, most students hadn't returned to campus yet. The three ate their sandwiches and caught up on what happened over break. Benny spent most of break fishing with his dad back in Louisiana. Jo was glad to be back at school and away from the ever present Ash; the two of them we at each other’s throats all break working nearly everyday at the Roadhouse. 

“How’s Cas?” Jo asked, chomping on a french fry.

“He’s fine, at least he was the last time we talked. Zach didn’t come down on him too hard, I don’t know what he was so worried about,” Dean shrugged.

“What happened with Cas?” Benny asked after swallowing what he had in his mouth.

“Mike told their uncle about Cas disappearing for that weekend, he was pretty pissed so he spent a while at my house to get away from Zachariah.”

Benny nodded as if he understood, he heard bits and pieces of the story at Dean’s on New Year’s Eve, but hadn’t really heard the whole thing.

By the time the three finished lunch and went back to their rooms Gabriel was back and laying on his bed messing with his camera. “Cassie was disappointed you weren’t here.”

“I had lunch with Benny and Jo. Is he in his room?” Dean paused, and decided not to take off his jacket, but instead leave again once Gabe nodded his head and confirmed that his brother went back to his room.

As the door closed behind him Dean heard Gabriel shout, “Nice to see you too, chucklehead!” Dean just shook his head with a half-hearted laugh before walking down the hall to the elevator.

Across campus Castiel was folding his clothes to put them in his dresser when he heard a knock on his door. He opened the door to Dean standing there with a smirk on his face, “Dean,” Castiel greeted with a warm smile, “Come in.”

Dean entered the room and was immediately pushed against the closed door, Cas’ lips pressed to his eagerly. Dean’s hands came up to wrap around Castiel’s back to pull him closer before he pulled his mouth away for a second to say, “Hello to you too,” he smirked and placed his lips on Castiel’s again, his time with less passion, and more tenderness- a kiss that told Cas he missed him. 

“How was the rest of your break?” Castiel asked after the two separated, Dean’s arms lingering and holding Cas still close, their noses lightly brushing. 

“Great, Ash and I saw Next Friday,” Dean laughed and Castiel tilted his head the way he does when he doesn’t understand something.

“What’s that?” 

“A stoner movie, God, Cas, it was hysterical,” Dean said, surprised a pot head like Cas hadn’t heard of it.

“I see. I’m glad you and Ash had a good time,” Cas smiled.

“Yeah, he’s going to apply to UKan for the fall,” Dean grinned excitedly, shimmying off his coat and tossing it over the trench coat draped over the back of Cas’ desk chair. 

“Good for him, I’d hate to see him miss out on his education because of a drunken mistake,” Castiel nodded as he sat on his bed.

“I think he’ll want to live on campus too, Bobby and Ellen are driving him nuts,” Dean sat down on the bed next to Cas and leaned back so he rested against the wall.

“Do you think you’ll want to be roommates?” 

“Maybe. Oh shit room selections are soon,” Dean said, knowing that soon they will have to choose their roommates for the following year. Cas just nodded before Dean asked, “Do you have any idea what you want to do next year?”

“I’m not sure, I haven’t really thought about it,” Castiel responded honestly then leaned closer to Dean so their legs touched and his head rested on Dean’s shoulder.

“Gabe really wants to live in the Millennium building. It’ll be opening in the fall. I hear it’s supposed to be really nice.”

“I’ve heard it’s very nice, especially in comparison to this building,” Cas laughed, patting the wall.

“Right, finally they’re building a nice dorm,” Dean chuckled before adding, “It’s suites- kind of like an apartment, so there can be a bunch of people living in ‘em.”

“Juniors only though?” Castiel asked out of curiosity; Ash would technically still be a freshman since he didn’t even complete one semester.

“I dunno,” Dean shrugged, “I think anyone can live there but it’ll probably fill up before freshmen can get to it. Unless you know someone,” he winked.

“Are you suggesting you know someone who can get Ash a spot?”

“Yeah, me. Or Gabe, or even you,” Dean bumped shoulders playfully with Cas and grinned.

“What do you mean?” Cas asked, his brows furrowed.

“Gabe and I will get to pick sooner since we’re sophomores. I don't think most seniors want to live on campus so our chances are good is all,” Dean shrugged.

“But why me? Do you want me to live with you next year?”

“I mean,” Dean blushed and rubbed the back of his neck, “I think it could be fun.”

Castiel nodded slowly, processing what Dean was saying- he was suggesting they live together next year. They had been seeing each other for only a couple months, but Castiel supposed they have been good friends and spent a lot of time together since they arrived on campus in August. “Perhaps it could be fun,” he said after a moment, earning a smile from Dean.

“No pressure though,” Dean said, he wanted Cas to choose to live with them next year on his own terms, he definitely didn’t want to make him feel like he had to or pressure him into something he wasn't ready for.

“I know, Dean,” Cas smiled before leaning in to capture Dean’s lips with his own. Dean brought a hand up to wrap around Cas’ shoulder and pull him closer. Castiel’s hands immediately went up to gently cradle the older boys chin as he applied more pressure into the kiss. The force of Castiel’s kiss forced Dean to lean to the side, and he gave in so he was laying down, Cas half on top of him and their legs tangled together.

“Is your roommate back yet?” Dean asked, breaking away from the kiss, out of breath.

“It does not appear so,” Castiel said after glancing to the other side of the room, the bed bare and a dresser drawer open and empty.

“Good,” Dean said, digging his hands into Cas’ longer hair and smashing their lips together.

*

Dean and Castiel laid in bed, side by side breathing heavily when Castiel said, “Dean, I have work soon.”

Dean opened his eyes, he was on the brink of falling asleep and groaned, not wanting to move.

“I’m sorry, I should get ready, I probably need a shower,” Cas said as he sat up, his chest flushed and sticky.

Dean sighed but stood up and pulled on his boxers as Cas retrieved a tissue to wipe his chest off before pulling a towel from his basket of clean laundry to wrap around his waist. “So I won’t see you at dinner tonight, then?”

Castiel shook his head no and said, “Unless you want to eat a peanut butter sandwich at 10, then no.”

Dean laughed, pulling Cas in for a quick peck before he finished dressing himself and threw on his jacket. “Have a good night, Cas.”

Charlie practically squealed with excitement from behind the security desk when Castiel entered the lobby of the dorm, “Hi! How was your break?” She asked eagerly, removing her feet from atop the desk and spinning around in the chair as Castiel set his backpack on the floor beside her purse.

“It was,” Castiel paused, unsure how to explain the mixed emotions he had experienced over the past month, “strange,” he said with his eyes squinted but with a smile on his face. “How was yours?”

“Strange? Hold up,” she said, sitting up straighter, ready to listen. “Tell me everything.”

Once Castiel described the situation with Zachariah Charlie’s jaw dropped, shocked that his own brother would invade his privacy in front of the family. 

“So I spent a week with Dean at his house,” Castiel grinned and Charlie closed her mouth, then opened it again in disbelief.

“Shut up!” She exclaimed, making Castiel appear taken aback, “I mean, details!”

Castiel flushed and his eyes fluttered to the ground, “Dean and I established we are seeing each other exclusively,” he grinned and Charlie immediately followed.

“That’s awesome, Cas!” She exclaimed, eagerly jumping up to give him a hug. He stood still for a moment before bringing a hand up to pat her on the back. 

“Yes, yes it is,” he said slowly, his grin spreading wider.

“Now I’d love to sit and hear all about your cozy winter getaway in Dean Winchester’s bed,” she said as she began stuffing her things back into her bag, “but it’s quittin’ time and I have a hot date tonight!” Charlie grinned and slung her bag over her shoulder before patting Castiel on the shoulder and saluting him goodbye.

“Good luck on your date!” Castiel exclaimed after her as he sat down in the desk chair.

“Don’t need it!” She called, already halfway out the door. 

Castiel chuckled to himself, although he was amused by his friend he envied her confidence. That was something he always admired about Dean, his ability to face the world with strength, confidence and grace. Dean Winchester was many things, but insecure was not one of them. His admiration of Dean and Charlie’s confidence slowly dwindled as he began thinking about Charlie going on a date. He felt jealousy pull at his chest, he had never been on a date before. Cas and Dean went to the museum together, but the only reason they tagged along was to drive Sam and Jess, then he insisted to Dean they stay, _‘It won’t kill you to learn something new outside of school’_. He didn’t see that outing as a date, and he was sure Dean didn’t either, despite their “discussion” about their relationship. He felt a slightly frown tug his lips- why didn't Dean want to go on a date? Was Dean ashamed to go on a date with Castiel? Dean didn’t exactly advertise his bisexuality on a billboard, but the two could still go out to dinner together (somewhere other than the dining hall) and be discrete. He wondered why, if Dean wanted to see each other exclusively, they hadn’t gone on any dates until a student walked up to the desk with a complaint about being locked out of his room. Castiel sighed, pushing away thoughts of Dean as he stood up to retrieve a master key to unlock the student’s door.


	27. 27

Now that Castiel had promised his brother he wouldn’t buy pot from Crowley anymore, he was desperate for some kind of relaxation. He had ran out of his pills over winter break, and was really feeling on edge. As much as he enjoyed being away from Zachariah and Michael, Cas was still feeling tense, he couldn’t shake it. The semester had just started and he was already feeling overwhelmed with his classes, he was uninterested in the required childhood development course- he knew he was never going to work with children. He had thought being in the honors program would be an easy way to make friends who had similar interests, but in reality the courses were nearly the same as the regular classes, they just had twice the amount of material and didn’t feel worth it. He wanted to interact with his classmates, but without the pills he found himself afraid to speak out loud to answer questions, nevermind spark up a conversation with a complete stranger. 

On top of his stress about classes, Castiel still couldn’t shake the sensation that Dean was ashamed to be seen publicly as a couple. The two had agreed they would be fine telling their friends about them, but in the first few weeks back to school Castiel still felt like they were hiding from everyone. The topic wasn’t brought up at all around their friends except for Gabriel (who seemed to be ever present when they wanted time alone). Benny even introduced Dean to one of his friends, and while she was outwardly flirting with Dean, Dean didn’t bring up that he was accounted for. Dean of course didn’t flirt with her or lead her to believe they would be having breakfast together in the morning, he just politely excused himself and disappeared to the bathroom. Benny had looked at Cas with a dumbfounded expression, but Castiel just averted his eyes and downed his beer. He had hoped at some point Dean would have told Benny he was seeing someone, but when Dean simply said he “wasn’t interested” Cas felt a pang of shame deep in his gut- Dean didn’t even want to tell one of his closest friends.

Castiel sighed, unable to focus on his homework and pushed his chair away from his desk, preparing to go on a walk to try to clear his head. His roommate briefly looked up at the noise of the chair scraping against the tile floor, but turned back to his book, uninterested in what Castiel was doing. He pulled on his coat and grabbed his keys before hurrying out the door, eager to get outside. He didn’t really have a destination in mind, he just hoped the chilly late January air would calm his nerves.

Not long after exiting his building Castiel noticed Andy’s van parked across the street from the campus convenience store. Deciding he had nothing better to do, Cas crossed the street and knocked loudly on the side door and called out, “Hey, Andy!”

Castiel heard movement inside the van before he saw Andy’s head peering through a window, once he realized it was Cas the door opened and a steady stream of smoke poured out. “Cas! Hey, man! What’s up?”

“I was just going for a walk and saw your van, so I stopped by to say hello.”

“You wanna toke?” Andy asked, Castiel nodded in response and Andy moved aside so Cas would have room to climb in before the door was slid shut behind him.

“Why are you smoking in here?” Castiel asked as he sat cross legged on the carpet of the van. 

A girl with long, dreadlocked hair was inhaling off a large bong. “You sure this guy’s cool? He looks like a cop,” she said as she exhaled, raising an eyebrow at Cas’ trenchcoat.

“Yeah, this is Cas! He lives on your floor!” Andy said excitedly, clapping Castiel on the shoulder and she shrugged, passing him the bong.

Castiel accepted and before he lit it asked, “Then why are you out here?”

“Fuckin’ RA, dude,” she said, shaking her head.

“Meg?” Castiel asked after he coughed from the amount of smoke he just inhaled.

“Nah, Meg’s cool. The other one,” she said, waving her hand towards the building.

Castiel laughed and asked, “You think Meg’s cool?”

“She doesn’t give a damn what we do,” the girl said before Andy passed her the glass pipe. “I’m Alexandra by the way.”

After Alexandra left for her evening class Andy and Castiel sat in the van for a little while later before their stomachs growled and they decided to head to the dining hall. “Do you sell at all?” Castiel asked after Andy closed and locked the van.

“A little bit, here and there,” he shrugged.

“Can I buy some? There was,” he paused, “an issue with my guy.”

“Yeah, man! Anytime you need!” Andy agreed eagerly, knowing that Castiel was perpetually stoned and would be a loyal customer. 

Once the two got their food they paused in front of the sitting area, wondering if any of their other friends were there, before they heard Castiel’s name called out and turned to where the sound came from. It was Dean, Gabriel, and Benny who waved them over to sit.

“Hey, Cas,” Dean said as he sat down on the other side of Gabriel. 

“Hello, Dean,” he greeted.

“Nice to see you too bro,” Gabriel said sarcastically, since Castiel was apparently only greeting his partner.

“Hello, Benny,” Cas said, pointedly not greeting his brother now.

Gabriel gave his brother the finger and continued to eat his dinner while Dean asked Andy and Benny if they wanted to live in a suite next year.

“Live on campus? I dunno,” Andy said wearily.

“You already do, you just don’t live in a building,” Dean snorted.

“There’s just so many rules,” Andy trailed off but Gabriel perked up.

“A suite is like an apartment, RA’s won’t be doing room checks, there’s a ton more space. The building is brand new- you should see the blueprints it’s huge.”

“Why have you seen the blueprints, and no one else has? Hell, Dean and I are architecture majors and we haven’t seen them.”

“I have my ways. Just trust me the rooms are huge!”

“Who else is going to be living there?” Benny asked, narrowing his eyes.

“Us, all of us,” Dean moved his hand in a circular motion to show everyone at the table, “Ash, probably if he gets accepted, Chuck.”

Benny groaned, “Chuck? He’s bad news, fellas.”

“You barely know him,” Gabriel scoffed.

“So do you. I just have a bad feeling about him,” Benny shrugged.

“Chuck’s a little weird, but he’s harmless. Like Cassie,” Gabe said with a mouthful, pointing his thumb at his brother, who just glared.

“Cas isn’t weird, shut up,” Dean snapped at his roommate, earning a couple stares from Benny and Andy. “Don’t be a dick, Gabe.”

“Ouch, Dean-O. I didn’t realize you were such a mother hen.”

“Okay, that’s just creepy,” Dean said, shaking his head.

“Dean, you don’t need to defend my honor now tha-” Castiel was about to say now that we’re together, but stopped himself just in time, unsure if Dean wanted Benny and Andy to know.

“It’s not because you’re my boyfriend, you’re not weird.”

“Hold up! Did you just say boyfriend?” Andy exclaimed.

Dean’s ears turned a beet color, feeling like a schoolgirl because he was now suddenly embarrassed to use the term ‘boyfriend’, “Yes.”

Andy’s mouth dropped open, and Benny just clapped Dean on the shoulder and said, “I’m happy for you, brother.”

“Wait, you,” Andy pointed to Cas, then turned to Dean.

“Yeah, Cas is my boyfriend,” Dean asserted with more confidence, nodding his head. Castiel smiled at seeing his confidence in their relationship. His anxieties that Dean was ashamed of him vanished, it appeared that Dean had just needed time to find the confidence to come out to their friends.

“Huh, well congrats you two,” he said after a moment.

Before Dean or Castiel got the chance to respond Charlie bounded up to the table with a curvy brunette in tow. “Hey, guys! This is Rhonda!” 

Dean looked up from his burger and nearly dropped it when he met eyes with Rhonda. “Uh, hey, Rhonda.”

“Dean, it’s been awhile,” she said with a smirk, and his cheeks flushed pink.

“Yeah,” he responded while Charlie said, “Oh you two know each other?”

“Yeah we’ve met,” she answered for Dean.

Castiel turned to face Dean, his face twisted trying to decode this uncomfortable encounter. When he looked at Dean he noticed his face was red and he was shifting in his seat, clearly uncomfortable.

“Oh, there’s Jess,” Charlie exclaimed, tugging on Rhonda, “We’ve gotta go, see you later guys!” She waved goodbye and Rhonda gave a small wave and a wink before following Charlie to another table.

“ _That’s_ Rhonda?” Gabriel exclaimed, turning to Dean with an expression of bewilderment. Dean nodded, wiping his face with his sleeve. “You mean _the_ Rhonda?”

“Yes,” Dean hissed.

“You mean The-Freakiest-Girl-You’ve-Ever-Met Rhonda?” Gabriel asked with a grin on his face.

“Yup, that’s her,” Dean said, turning his attention back to his plate.

“Bro! She looks like a choir girl!” Gabriel laughed at Rhonda’s sweet appearance.

“Trust me, she wouldn’t be allowed in church choir.”

“Holy shit, the Rhonda,” Gabe shook his head, “Can you put in a good word for me?”

“Sorry if that was weird back there,” Dean said sheepishly, turning to Castiel on their way out of the dining hall, their friends a few paces ahead of them.

“You’ve had previous sexual partners, Dean, you don’t need to feel like you have to hide or be ashamed.”

“Yeah,” Dean drew out the word, “But Gabe made it sound-”

“Crass and exaggerated?”

Dean laughed and nodded, bumping Castiel with his arm, silently telling him he was correct.

*

Later that evening Castiel managed to convince Dean he should study with him in the library, so once the two entered the library just after 7 Dean was shocked to see how busy it was. “Wow, I’ve never seen this many people in here,” he said, looking around at the full tables on the main level, all the computer stations were full also.

As they opened the door to the stairs Castiel said with a smirk, “And exactly how many times have you been in the library?”

Dean mumbled something that made Castiel turn around, “Excuse me?” instead of answering Dean pushed Cas against the wall and covered his mouth with his own, his hands pushing Castiel’s hips into the wall. When he pulled away Castiel’s lips were reddened and he blinked his eyes a couple times before Dean chuckled to himself and licked his lips, pushing away from Castiel and opening the door to the archives.

“Dean someone could have seen,” Castiel said as a warning, following Dean through the door.

“I know. That’s what makes it so fun,” Dean stopped and allowed Castiel to walk past him only to grab his ass.

“Dean!” Castiel said almost hushed, Dean’s arms wrapping around him, pulling him close so Castiel’s back was flush against Dean.

“Relax, there’s no one down here but us,” Dean said into his ear, shivers ran throughout Castiel’s body as Dean’s hands moved down from his abdomen to his thighs, rubbing up and down as he gently nipped on Cas’ ear.

“Someone could walk in,” Castiel said quietly with a groan when Dean stopped moving his hands and grabbed his inner thigh with force.

“They won’t,” Dean said before peeling himself away from Cas. He went over to the door and pulled a nearby chair under the door handle. “See?” Dean approached Cas again but this time pulled out a chair and urged him to sit down. 

“Dean, what-” Castiel started to ask but knew what he was doing the second Dean dropped to his knees in front of him. 

“Can I ask you something?” Castiel asked, nervously drumming his pencil on the table.

Dean hummed in affirmation but then took another few seconds to finish reading the paragraph and dog-eared the page he was on, closing the book. Castiel waited until he closed the book to say, “We haven’t gone on a date.”

“That’s uh, not exactly a question,” Dean said, despite knowing deep down that it was. 

“Why?” Castiel asked, Dean licked his lips and looked down at the cover of his textbook.

“I dunno, Cas. We haven’t really needed to,” he shrugged, looking back up at Cas.

“Needed to?” Castiel reflected back.

“Ugh, not _needed_ to, but like,” Dean nervously wiped at his mouth as he talked, “we don’t need to go on a date and play he-likes-me, he-likes-me-not.” Castiel stared at Dean, waiting for him to elaborate, then Dean sighed. “We’re already together, we don’t have to do the dating thing. I like hanging out with you the way we have been. Why does it need to change?”

“Dean, typically people in a romantic relationship,” Dean groaned when Cas said _‘romantic relationship’_ , “Go on dates. Why are we any different? Are you embarrassed to go on a date with another man?”

“No! Cas! Absolutely not! Why would you say that?” Dean perked up from his slouching position.

“Well I can’t think of any other reason why you don’t want to go on a date with me.”

“Cas, it’s,” Dean sighed and ran his hands over his face, “It isn’t you, I promise,” he gushed, placing his hands on the table and grabbed Castiel’s.

“Then what is it Dean?”

“Dating is,” he paused, “it’s dumb. It’s just a ritual. You go on a date, make dumb small talk, have an awkward kiss at the end and wonder if they’ll ever call.”

Castiel frowned, “We’re already in a relationship Dean, I can assure you you won't be wondering if I'll ever call. Why would a date be any different than when we just hang out?”

Dean shrugged and stayed silent for a moment. Cas was right, they’re already in a relationship, going on a date wouldn’t really be any different. It couldn’t possibly change things between them, could it? “I guess it wouldn’t be any different,” he said after thinking about it.

“Right,” Castiel nodded, still not entirely convinced Dean really wanted to.


	28. 28

Gabriel closed the mini fridge after passing a beer can each to Benny and Jo.

“Pass me one, will ya?” Dean asked, extending his palm towards his roommate, not turning away from the mirror mounted on the wall.

“You’re pre-gaming your date?” Jo asked with disbelief.

“I’m nervous!” Dean defended, cracking open the can and taking a long sip.

Gabriel laughed loudly, “Seriously? How long have you and Cassie been together?”

“I haven’t been on a real date in years.”

“You’re actually nervous about going on a date with Cas?” Benny asked, sounding less condescending than Gabriel.

Dean tossed the now empty beer can towards the trash, “Shut up!” He turned his attention back to his clothing choices, “Does this look okay?” He turned around and gestured towards his trunk.

“Aw, Dean’s self conscious about his outfit!” Jo teased but stood up and approached Dean’s dresser to help him out. 

“Jo!” He warned before she pulled a pair of dark wash jeans and handed them to him.

“These will look better, trust me,” she said before returning to her spot on Dean’s bed beside Benny.

Dean looked at the jeans a moment before shrugging and pulling off the ones he was wearing to replace with the pair Jo picked.

“Are you sure?” Dean looked down at himself with the new pants and contemplated if he liked the other ones more.

“What does it matter, anyway? You won’t be wearing them long!” Gabriel said, his video camera now pointing directly at Dean. “And here’s Dean getting ready for his first date with Cassie, say hi Dean.”

Dean replied with a middle finger pointed at the camera seconds before they heard a knock on the door. Gabriel readied his camera at the door, “He’s here.”

Dean rolled his eyes at Gabe and opened the door, grabbing his jacket quickly, hoping to escape the torment of his friends. “Hello Dean,” Castiel said.

“Hey, Cas, let’s go!” Dean exclaimed, ushering him away from the door, not even allowing him to step inside.

“Bye kids! Have fun! Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!” Gabriel called from behind the closed door.

Cas scoffed at his brother before they made their way to the elevator, and once inside it he turned to Dean and said, “You look very handsome,” he brought a hand up to feel the soft material of Deans’ gray sweater. 

“Right back at ya,” Dean said, using one arm to wrap around Castiel’s back and the other to tip his chin to meet his lips.

"I like this sweater. I've never seen it before, is it new?" Cas asked, his hand lingering on Dean's chest a moment.

Dean chuckled quietly, "No, it's for special occasions."

"I see," Cas smiled and nodded before pulling apart when the elevator came to a halt.

A girl entered the elevator, joining them on the rest of their journey down, and the two stood what they believed was a socially acceptable distance apart.

“So where are we going?” Castiel asked as they walked towards the parking lot.

“Well I know you like that sushi place downtown,” Dean trailed off as they approached his car.

“You remembered,” Cas smiled as he sat in the passenger seat, appreciating that Dean, despite his blase exterior, did really listen to Castiel. 

“Of course, I’m not that much of an asshole, Cas,” Dean laughed over the rumbling of the engine.

“I never thought you were,” he responded, fondly looking over at the driver.

The drive to Cas’ favorite sushi restaurant was silent save for the sound of Motley Crue on the radio. It was as if Dean had suddenly forgotten how to talk to Cas, his best friend, his boyfriend. Cas was sitting in the seat beside him, staring out the windshield like his usual statuesque self, unbothered by their silence. Tonight was the night. Dean was officially taking his boyfriend on a date. They were going to a fancy sushi restaurant, Dean was wearing the sweater his mom made him wear to Christmas dinner, he was going to tell Cas to get whatever he wanted no matter the price, and insist they get dessert when Cas politely declines. After they leave the restaurant was Dean going to walk him to his door and kiss him goodnight? 

“Dean?” Cas asked, and Dean glanced to his right to see him staring at him as usual.

“What?”

“Thank you.”

“For what?” Dean asked, turning his attention back to the road.

“For tonight, I appreciate your willingness to go on a date with me,” Castiel said as if it was obvious.

“Cas, I’d do anything for you,” Dean said with a loud gulp, suddenly realizing he was in way over his head.

Dean had never had sushi before, so when they were going over the menus Cas suggested he try a California roll but when Dean caught sight of a teriyaki chicken roll he couldn’t resist ordering it. Castiel laughed so hard when Dean ordered it that their server had to come back after a few minutes to take his order.

“What?” Dean asked, his face red, embarrassed from Cas laughing at him in public. This is why he didn’t want to go on a date, he knew he was going to make a fool out of himself somehow.

Castiel waved his hands in front of his face as he attempted to regain his composure. “You ordered chicken sushi,” he huffed when he caught his breath.

“So?” Dean defended, “I like chicken.”

"Dean, I love how you are unapologetically you. I would never want you to change who you are for me," Castiel smiled fondly and reached across the table to grab Dean’s hand. Dean instinctively pulled back, but upon seeing Castiel’s dejected expression he apologized and extended his hand, wrapping it around Castiel’s. “I’m sorry, Cas, I didn’t mean to do that.” Dean mentally noted this was his second strike, he realized he was royally fucking up this date.

“It’s okay, you’re not used to holding hands with another man,” Castiel stated, nodding his head, giving his hand a gentle squeeze before letting go, not wanting to push his boundaries.

Dean nodded, “I’m trying.”

“I know you are, I appreciate it. I’m with you every step of the way.”

“Cas, it’s just that-” Dean leaned back in his seat, really wishing he could order a drink. “I’ve been with guys before, just not,” he trailed off but Castiel knew what he was going to say.

“Not publicly,” he nodded. 

Dean shrugged, “A boyfriend.”

Castiel nodded, “Your boundaries are important to me.”

“Thanks, Cas,” Dean said before taking a long sip of his water. 

“Is this date as terrible as you imagined?” Castiel asked after he swallowed a bite.

Dean laughed, poking his sushi roll with chopsticks, “Besides me fucking it up? No.”

“You’re not fucking it up, Dean.”

“You sure? Feels like I am.”

“I’m positive. I would tell you if you were,” Castiel smiled before stuffing another roll into his mouth. 

“So, uh, how’s your classes?” 

Castiel swallowed before saying, “They’re alright except my developmental psychology course. I really can’t see myself working with children in the future, so I’m just not interested.”

“Then why take it?”

Castiel sighed and picked up the dessert menu off the table, “It’s required. I can understand why, it’s important to understand how humans develop but I’m just not interested in learning about children and adolescents.” He placed it back on the table, not interested.

“Don’t want dessert?” Dean asked, nodding his head towards the menu Cas discarded.

“No, I have another idea about dessert,” he said, taking another sip of his water.

As it turned out, Castiel’s dessert plan was not dessert at all, but Dean bent over his desk with Castiel between his legs, eagerly lapping at his ass, and a hand wrapped around Dean’s cock.

“That was a pretty good date,” Dean huffed, out of breath, and folded his arm under his head. 

“Mhm, I agree,” Cas said as he laid down in the bed beside Dean, “I told you it wouldn’t be so bad.”

“Cas, I never thought it would be bad. I just thought it would be awkward.”

Castiel laughed loudly and turned on his side to face his partner. “You were the one making it awkward.”

Dean groaned, “I’m sorry Cas.”

“Dean, I had a great time. I promise. Now put on some pants before my brother comes back.”

Dean laughed as he sat up and placed a kiss to Castiel’s forehead before he swung his legs over the edge of the bed. “I get all tingly when you take control like that.”

“I’m leaving!” 

“No, Cas! I was just kidding,” Dean laughed as he pulled on a pair of boxers and a shirt, enough clothing for Gabriel’s impending arrival.

Castiel laughed again, sitting up to lean against the headboard, "Are you going to offer me a drink?"

"Would you like a drink, Cas?" Dean asked before offering beer or rum.

"Rum," Cas grinned at Dean.

"What?" Dean asked when he passed a stolen cup from the dining hall with spiced rum to his partner, noticing the grin on his face.

"It reminds me of Halloween," he said before grimacing slightly, "It tasted a lot better on Halloween, though."

"You were pretty fucked up," Dean took a sip of his own.

Castiel grimaced again after taking another sip, "Do you have any coke?"

Dean sighed, knowing he would have to go downstairs to the vending machine in the lobby and set his drink down to pull on a pair of pants.

"Thank you," Castiel smiled sweetly.

Only moments after Dean left Gabriel returned to the room, "Are you decent?"

"Yes, Gabriel," Castiel rolled his eyes.

"Where's Dean-O?" 

"Getting me a coke," he gestured to the bottle of rum open on Dean's dresser.

Gabriel made a hand gesture and a sound effect of a whip cracking as he kicked off his shoes before taking a swig directly from the bottle of rum.

"Just because he is thoughtful doesn't mean he's whipped."

"Of course he is, you have that effect on men," Gabe laughed.

"No I don't," Cas scoffed, sitting up straighter in the bed.

"You do!" 

Before Castiel had the chance to answer Dean opened the door, "Hey," he nodded to his roommate and sat in the bed next to Cas, who eagerly poured the soda into his cup.

"Thank you, Dean," he leaned over to place a chaste kiss on Dean's lips, Gabriel's whip crack sound effect ringing in his ears.


	29. 29

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to the commenters who pointed out my last update was basically the same chapter twice!! I write in google docs and I usually delete after I post here but apparently messed up my system. Anyway so sorry about the glitch, this is the real chapter 29!

Castiel sighed and ran a hand through his hair, tapping his leg anxiously. Without the pills Castiel was trying to settle his anxiety with pot alone, and it was not working after well over a year of daily pills and combined _natural_ remedies. 

At first it started for fun, smoking a joint for the first time with Ruby and Bal; then when his grades started slipping from the stress of college applications and advanced placement classes, Crowley told him he had pills that would help him focus better at school. Castiel just couldn’t resist. He couldn’t afford to. But Ruby took it further than Cas could have imagined, _the pot just doesn’t do it for me anymore, Cassie_. And then Castiel couldn’t sleep because Ruby’s lifeless eyes were always watching. It didn't take long until he could still feel her gaze on him even when he was awake. Crowley promised he had something to ease Castiel’s nerves- Castiel was desperate; he couldn’t say no.

His roommate was going to be back from class soon, he was desperate to smoke so he pulled on his trench coat with a couple joints stashed in the pockets and locked the door behind him. He was glad Dean had showed him the bike path, it made for a perfect place to smoke without being disturbed. Occasionally a couple middle aged women would power-walk past him, but they usually passed without noticing the boy sitting on a rock just out of sight of the path. 

“This is crap,” he said to himself, tossing the joint on the ground, feeling fed up with the shitty pot he had been buying from Andy. He had smoked an entire joint and was onto the second when he realized he was nowhere near as high as he should be. Castiel grunted and stood up, kicking at the discarded joint before stuffing his hands in his pockets to leave. He was still as anxious as he was when he arrived, and now he was frustrated that his efforts to calm had failed him. He shook his head as he headed back down the path, wanting to get back to the well lit street before the sun went down. He thought about stopping by to see Dean, but he was really not in the mood to deal with Gabriel. He sighed, knowing Charlie was at work, and Garth had signed up for intramural dodge ball- there wasn’t anyone available he wanted to be around right now. 

Except.

“Where have you been?” The apartment door opened to allow Cas in. Crowley took a sip of what Cas had to assume was whiskey as the door closed.

“Busy,” Castiel said pointedly, not wanting to divulge into his personal life too much. He didn’t really want Crowley to know too much about him, he thought Crowley knew too much already.

“Well thanks for fitting me into your busy schedule,” Crowley said sarcastically, gently swirling his glass, his dark eyes boring into Castiel.

“I need pot, Crowley,” Castiel said cutting to the chase.

“Why didn’t you say so,” he said with a smirk and an arm extended towards the living space, inviting him in before turning away to get his things from the bedroom.

“Hi Castiel.”

Castiel stopped in his tracks, his eyes slightly squinted and brow furrowed. He recognized that voice.He hadn’t heard it in well over a year, but he still recognized it. He entered the living space and stopped, not wanting to get any closer to his brother who was lounged on Crowley’s couch, his arm lazily draped around the back of the count and his legs crossed at the knee as if he had been hanging out all day.

“Missed you, bro,” Luke said, pulling a cigarette from his lips to ash in the tray on the coffee table.

Castiel felt his whole body tense, his lips pursed and his fist tightened as he made eye contact with his older brother. He wrapped his coat around his midsection tighter before turning around, pulling open the front door, letting it slam behind him. Castiel thought he heard Crowley shout something behind the closed door but ignored it. He wasn’t able to tell if the vibrations he felt was from the door slamming shut or from the anger radiating throughout his whole body. His hands shook, he balled up his fists and clenched trying to get them to stop shaking. 

Castiel couldn’t stay here, he had to get away as fast as possible. He started walking before he had a destination in mind. He briefly considered going to Gabriel, but he figured he would rather deal with this himself than admit to his brother and Dean that he had gone to see Crowley. He just would never see Crowley again, he couldn’t risk going there and seeing Luke again- it was the easiest solution. He and Gabriel were doing just fine without Luke, and Cas wanted Luke to stay far away from them. At least Luke didn’t know where they were, right?

Castiel continued walking but turned his head to look behind him to make sure he wasn’t being followed. There was no way Luke would be able to find them on campus, it was a big enough school and Castiel couldn’t imagine Luke going through the trouble of seeking him out. He hadn’t tried to seek out his younger brothers all this time, so why the hell would he do it now. As he approached the outskirts of campus Castiel thought that even if Luke found him and Gabriel he would probably only be looking for money. As much as Luke had been a dick over the years, Castiel knew he wouldn’t hurt him or Gabe. Maybe Michael. Hell, Michael would probably kick his ass if he ever saw his twin again.

When he reached his dorm Castiel closed the door to his room and leaned against it, attempting to steady his breathing with closed eyes.

“You okay?” His roommate asked.

Castiel nodded slowly before crossing over to his desk, “Yes, I’m just stressed.”

His roommate either understood or didn’t care to press him because he didn’t say anything as Cas attempted to busy himself with the assignment he had abandoned. 

At lunch the following day Castiel kept to himself, he was quiet as Gabriel exclaimed his excitement for some party happening at the frat house.

“You coming, Cas?” Dean asked hopefully, since Castiel hadn’t been to a party with them since coming back from winter break.

He shrugged, knowing that midterms would be coming up next month and that he should take advantage of the light classwork he had at this moment. “Yeah, sure.” He thought he could also use an excuse to let loose and forget about the events of the past week.

“Alright!” Gabriel exclaimed, “Perfect, we need you for our team!”

“Your team?”

“You need to clean out your ears, bro,” Gabriel said with his mouthful.

“We needed another member on our flip cup team, they’re doing a tournament,” Dean said with a smile, excited that Cas finally agreed to go out with them again.

“Oh, I don’t know how to play,” Castiel said, now regretting that he agreed to go to the party.

“We’ll teach you!” Jo exclaimed.

By Saturday night and the flip cup tournament came along Castiel was not prepared to play, no matter how many times he practiced with Jo during the week. He knew he was terrible, but he didn’t care, he only agreed to come because he needed some way to shut his brain off for awhile. He just had to be careful not to drink so much he lost all filters, he couldn’t let it slip to Dean or Gabe that he saw Luke at Crowley’s apartment. Castiel made his way to the keg, bringing back a cup for him and Dean; receiving a protest from his brother who asked why he didn’t bring him one.

Castiel downed his drink and shrugged, “Then I’ll go get us a couple,” he sauntered back towards the keg through the crowded living space, leaving his friends behind looking confused.

“Is it just me or was that weird?” Jo asked, sipping from the fifth of whiskey Benny uncovered from his jacket pocket.

“Uh, yeah. Dean?” Gabe asked with a raised eyebrow, hoping Dean would have more of an idea of what was with Cas.

“I don’t know,” Dean held his beer up in defense but became quiet when Cas came back with another two beers. Gabe accepted his drink and by the time the group made their way to the bracket drawn on a blackboard Castiel had finished his second beer. Upon seeing this Gabe clapped his brother on the back and followed suit, “Good warm up, team,” Gabe laughed.

Dean leaned in to Cas’ ear and said, “You’re drinking like you’ve been lost in the desert, you good?”

Castiel just nodded, “We’re at a party,” he said.

“You just don’t usually drink so much,” Dean said, concern still lingering in his voice.

“Dean, I’m just having fun,” Castiel insisted, looking at the tournament’s bracket to turn away from Dean’s attention. When he realized Dean was starting to talk with someone else he hurried off to the keg again and finished another before filling up his fourth cup.

When the tournament started they were off to a decent start, Gabriel, Dean, and Jo all managed to flip their cup on the first try. Apparently the trio practiced frequently after they lost in the first round of the tournament last year; one of the frat brothers Castiel didn’t recognized was heckling their team about their shameful previous loss. But when they got to Benny the team started slipping, Benny had apparently had too much whiskey. Luckily for them (or for Castiel) one of the girls on their competitor team was also struggling, and was much more flustered about it than Benny was. Her teammates were shouting as her cup continued to land on it’s side, and she groaned loudly with frustration, her arm accidentally knocking her teammate’s cup off the table when she reached for her own. 

“Come on!” The guy across the table from Cas shouted, and threw his hands up in frustration at the spilled beer.

The brother standing at the head of the table yelled “Party foul! You’re out!” at the team across from Castiel and his friends.

Castiel’s head perked up, “We win?” He asked excitedly, he had just gotten out of his turn. He silently thanked God because he knew he would probably not be any better than the girl and his friends would have been disappointed.

“Dude that’s such bullshit!” The guy across from Cas yelled at the frat brother acting as a referee.

“House rules!” The brother exclaimed, folding his hands in front of his chest. “Who’s next?” He shouted, turning to the bracket to see who the next two teams were. 

Castiel quickly grabbed his cup and downed the contents in one large sip as he heard an angry, “Seriously, Jen? You said you could play!”

“I can’t concentrate while you’re screaming at me!” The girl exclaimed, her cheeks red from embarrassment, anger, or just because it was damn hot inside the dining room (but probably a combination of all three). The man walked away, going off with the rest of his team, leaving the girl- Jen alone to pick up the spilled drink.

Cas saw a towel hanging off the stove and snatched it, tossing it on the table. “Thanks,” Jen said with a small smile.

“It’s a dumb game,” Castiel said as he wiped the table.

She huffed a loose strand of hair out of her face, “Yeah, thanks, I know.” Jen looked up from picking up the cup off the floor. “Why do guys take this shit so seriously?” She asked rhetorically and laughed.

Castiel only laughed in response, the alcohol flowing through his body made him feel light, eager- made him feel social. 

“Is your friend okay?” Jen asked, looking past Castiel and squinting her eyes.

Cas turned around to see Jo and Dean each awkwardly holding onto one of Benny’s arms, helping him up from the floor, wedged between the couch and ottoman. “Yeah, he’ll be fine,” Castiel waved him off as Benny stood up and pulled Dean into an embrace, likely thanking him.

“Cas, Benny needs some air, wanna come?” Dean asked as he, Benny and Jo approached Castiel and Jen.

Castiel just shrugged and turned to face Jen who looked sympathetic. "I could use a smoke," Jen said with a nod towards the door and a half shrug. Jen and Castiel followed the three out the front door and when they got outside Jo turned to face Dean and Case, rolled her eyes. Benny was sitting on the stoop, an unlit cigarette dangling from his lips as he animatedly told them some story, "An' then I said not t'day, an' I socked 'im." 

“Uh, huh,” Dean said, nodding along, not entirely listening to Benny’s story.

Castiel leaned against the railing on the porch and quietly said, “What?” to Dean, gesturing to Benny.

Dean chuckled, “I dunno,” and shook his head. When he noticed Jen standing beside Cas he said, “Hey, you’re the girl from the game. That guy was a dick,” Dean snorted.

Jen took a drag from the cigarette between her lips and said, “Yeah, figures,” she rolled her eyes, “the cute ones are always assholes.”

“We sure are,” Dean winked, sipping on his drink.

“Well I’m sure you’re the exception,” she said with a smirk.

Castiel laughed, leaning over to nudge Dean; it was rougher than he planned, Dean stumbled briefly and had to reach out to the railing for support. “He is!”

Jen giggled as Jo turned her attention away from Benny, noticing she recognized the newcomer. “Hey, weren’t you in Dr. Alexander’s freshman history last Spring?” Jo asked.

“Yeah, wait, I thought I recognized you! You’re the girl who threatened to kick Jeremy's ass during class!” Jen pointed at Jo with a grin.

“You wha’?” Benny asked, whipping his head to face Jo.

Dean laughed, remembering Jo telling him all about this guy.

“That was me!” Jo grinned.

“That was so awesome. Alexander was so shocked, he had no idea what to say!” Jen laughed.

“Yeah, I think he was afraid of me. Got all A’s after that!” She exclaimed proudly.

“Jo you threatened someone?” Benny asked, for some reason he seemed shocked.

“Sounded like he had it comin’,” Dean said, Jen eagerly agreed with him. “No one tells Joanna Beth what to do.”

“I’m friends with his brother,” Jen said, nodding towards the direction of the house and dropping her discarded cigarette to the ground. "and he totally had it coming."

“Flip cup guy?” Dean asked and Jen nodded. “So it runs in the family,” he snorted.

“Want me to threaten to kick his ass too?” Jo grinned and Benny whined a very distinct “No!” in response.


	30. 30

Quite possibly the most exciting part of the Spring semester is picking room assignments for the following school year. Part of the excitement was the potential that everything- _everyone’s_ \- plans could go horribly wrong. Each student was assigned a random number that decided the order of room selection, and the larger the number, the later they would be able to choose their room. The guys figured their chances of getting a suite together was greater since there were more of them, and thus more likely for someone to get a low number and reserve a room with enough space for all of them.

“Okay, okay, but the real question is who gets the single room?” Gabriel asked, attempting to silence the table. Instead of silencing his friends, his question only made them louder. 

Jo and Charlie exchanged annoyed looks, glad that they simply chose to get a room together. They didn’t have to deal with anyone but each other, but the boys for some reason decided to get a suite for seven. 

Gabriel, Dean, Castiel, Chuck, and Benny bickered for another minute until Charlie exclaimed, “Enough!”

When everyone became quiet Dean exclaimed “You had a private room all year, you’re getting a roommate!” he pointed to Chuck, who was about to protest, but shrugged and didn’t. Dean did have a point- having a single room was one of the better perks of being a RA.

“If you can find someone who can stand you,” Jo snorted with a smile.

Chuck nodded with a laugh, “You’ve got me there.”

“I will absolutely not room with Dean or Cassie, I’ve seen and heard too much!” Gabriel said firmly, dramatically covering his ears.

“I could not bear the thought of sharing a room together,” Castiel said dryly, “again.”

Gabriel placed his hand over his heart, mouth open, “Ouch, baby bro. We could bunk the beds, just like when we were kids!”

Dean laughed, “Wait, you guys used to have bunk beds?”

“Yeah Castiel always loved the bottom- or was it the top?”

Castiel shot his brother a glare that unfortunately did not set him on fire, while Dean sputtered over his meal before shooting Gabe a glare that matched his partner’s. “Okay that’s enough,” Dean interjected as his friends laughed hysterically. 

“Whatever happens, we have to get room 210,” Gabriel said sternly.

“Why are you so obsessed with this room?” Charlie asked, she had heard Gabe mention room 210 on a couple of occasions. 

“Oh my God!” Dean exclaimed, he was sick of hearing about this room that Gabriel was dead set on claiming.

“It’s the best apartment in the building!” Gabriel said, excited to tell someone new this information. “It’s the biggest room! And it’s the furthest from the RA’s room, and it’s near the stairs. Easy to sneak people in and out.”

“And how do you know all this?”

“The building’s blueprints have been available all year, I’m apparently the only person who took a close look.”

Dean rolled his eyes, he wasn’t entirely convinced Gabriel’s story was the truth but went along with it, not caring enough to fight him on it.

While their friends were discussing who was going to share rooms Castiel and Dean faced a bit of a predicament. Sharing a room made sense, they wouldn’t have to bother any other people to get time alone, but what if their relationship changed over the course of the year? Dean and Castiel had only been together a few months, were they really ready to make an eight to nine month commitment to their new relationship? Dean wasn’t so sure he was, which is why he made the mistake of asking Benny to be his roommate.

On their way from their architecture class, Benny stopped dead in his tracks. “Did you really just ask me that?”

“Yeah,” Dean shrugged, wanting to shrink into himself at his friends unexpected reaction.

“Why wouldn’t you room with Cas?” Benny raised his eyebrow as they continued walking.

He shrugged again, “I dunno, it’s a little soon to move in together. We’ve been going steady for what, three months?” Dean turned to face his friend and put his hands in the air, “I cannot believe I just said _‘going steady’_ ,” he shook his head.

Benny laughed, “Doesn’t it feel good to say?” Dean paused a moment before he slowly nodded. “There’s really no difference, sharing a room, or sharing separate rooms in an apartment.”

“Except the obvious difference,” Dean said.

“Either way, brother,” he said, “you’ll be living together. See each other everyday, share a bathroom, the only difference is where you sleep at night. Besides, no one is going to want to room with either of you because you’ll constantly be kickin’ them out. I sure as hell don’t.”

On room selection day; luckily by the time Chuck- number 94; made it to the function room where dorm sign ups were happening there were still a number of the brand new suites available. He scrawled all of their names on the paper, then scurried out of the room before one of the residents on his floor he has been avoiding could reach him to complain about her roommate.

Castiel was unsurprisingly the last one to go to room selection, freshmen were always given the highest numbers and the last to select their rooms. When he arrived, his eyes scanned the pages and saw all the suites were filled in. His heart sank slightly when it took him a couple minutes to find Novak written next to his friends names under room 210. Once he realized their room was secured for the next year he smiled to himself thinking Gabriel must be happy, they got the room he was so insistent they needed. But mostly his smile was due to seeing his name written next to Dean Winchester. 

“So how did you decide who got the single room?” Jo asked, sitting on the quad as they enjoyed the first day of nice weather.

“They arm wrestled for it,” Dean snorted, picking aimlessly at a blade of grass.

Jo laughed loudly, “Seriously? Arm wrestled over a room?”

“Yeah, I don’t know why Andy thought he could actually win,” Dean chuckled. It was a ridiculous sight, Andy was defeated almost immediately against Ash, then Benny beat Ash. After Benny won, Dean tossed him a beer and nodded his head to him in a silent cheers. 

Charlie and Castiel were hunkered down in the basement of the library, they had increased their study sessions to three times a week as Charlie’s engineering classes became more and more difficult. She pulled the pencil she had been nibbling on out of her mouth and said, “You guys are really ready to live together?” 

“I hope so,” Castiel said, looking down at his coffee cup.

“You hope so?”

“Well yes, I hope it will improve our relationship.”

“Castiel,” she groaned.

“Charlie,” he mocked.

She tapped her pencil against the table, “I’m not trying to get you to bail on Dean, I just want you to really think about this. Really think about it, Castiel. What happens if you two break up? Have you two even talked about this?”

Castiel and Dean hadn’t talked about it. 

Sure, it was a pretty easy decision to share a room. They could push their two twin beds together- it would be a bit more comfortable than cramming two men into one twin. There wouldn’t be anymore waiting for one of their roommates to leave so they could have time alone. No more sharing a room with Castiel’s brother who seemed to always be around. It was an easy choice to share a room.

He pushed all negative thoughts out of his mind, he didn’t want to think about what if they broke up. He didn’t want to picture not being in a relationship with Dean. They just worked so well together, so effortlessly, like they had some special bond. He didn’t want to imagine what not being with Dean would be like. Castiel felt very strongly about Dean, he believed in their relationship.

But maybe Charlie was right, as much as he didn’t want to think about not having Dean, it would make sense to talk about it, just as a precaution.

Castiel sighed and lowered his head to the table, making Charlie poke him gently. “Sorry, Cas, I wasn’t trying to upset you.”

“No, you’re right,” he said as he lifted his head. “Dean and I should talk about it.”

Castiel and Dean tended to spend more time in Dean and Gabriel’s room than Castiel’s. Both Castiel’s roommate and Gabriel were around equally, but Gabriel already knew Dean and Cas were a thing. Not that Castiel’s roommate seemed homophobic, he just felt more comfortable being with Gabriel who he already knew well and they wouldn't have to worry about judgement.

As much as Cas didn’t want to ruin the relaxing evening in he and Dean were having, he knew they had to have a conversation about their upcoming living situation. He was seated on Dean’s bed, as close to the window as he could to blow smoke outside when Dean said, “Man, next year is going to be crazy, huh Cas?”

Castiel gulped and held the joint out for his partner, “I think we need to talk about that,” he said softly, he felt uneasy. Cas knew Dean was very adverse to speaking about how he felt, and their relationship in general. Dean preferred to show how he felt, and upon hearing Cas said they needed to talk, he instantly went on the defense. An easy conversation never started with _‘I think we need to talk’_.

“What’s there to talk about?” Dean asked despite knowing exactly what there was to talk about before putting the joint to his lips.

“We’re going to be living together. Not just sharing an apartment. Sharing a room.”

“Yeah, I know.” Dean said defensively, knowing where this was headed.

“We’ve only been together a few months, and it’s typical that couples,” Dean cringed slightly, “discuss their future when they begin thinking about living together.” There is is.

Dean didn’t say anything, he just hit the joint again when Cas passed it back to him. He looked up and saw Gabriel at his desk, a pencil paused mid-air, frozen. Dean silently begged Gabriel to do something- _anything_ to intercept this discussion. Dean was barely 20. He still had two years of undergrad left. He entered a relationship about two months ago. Dean wasn’t ready to discuss his future, let alone his future with someone else. Gabriel slowly stood up from his desk, picking up his notebook and stuck his pencil between his teeth before obviously trying to not look at Dean and Castiel as he left the room to give them privacy. Dean stared at the door, wishing Gabriel would come back, but he knew he wouldn’t.

“Cas, I’m not ready to get married-”

“And you think I am?”

“Well when you say future, that’s what I’m picturing,” Dean rubbed the back of his neck.

“Dean,” Castiel sighed out a cloud of smoke, “I’m not asking you to get married. I’m just saying we should at least think about discussing the future. What will we do if we break up? This relationship is still pretty new, and we just made a big decision without really talking about it first.”

“Cas, we’re not going to break up anytime soon.”

“You don’t know that,” Castiel said, staring at Dean. “How can you be so sure?”

“Because, Cas,” Dean said, shrugging. 

“Because why?”

“We’re just not going to!”

Castiel sighed and put his head in his hands, “You’re incredibly difficult, Dean.”

Dean knew that already; he nodded.

“I’m just afraid that we’ll break up and be stuck sharing a room for the rest of the year. And then I’d have to look at you every day and not be able to be with you,” he said softly.

Dean looked up from the joint in his hand to see Cas looking at him, his aquamarine eyes full of sadness. Dean gently reached over to pull Cas’ hand into his and said softly, “I'd do anything to make you happy Cas, I couldn't stand to see you hurt even if it meant I had move back home and commute. I’d figure it out. But we don’t need to. I’m telling you it’s not going to happen, Cas.”

Castiel scooted closer so his head could rest of Dean’s shoulder and sighed. “I just want to have a plan in place, or at least have it on our radar as something we need to consider.”

“Trust me Cas, we’re going to be fine,” Dean turned his head to place a chaste kiss on the top of Castiel’s hair. “I’m in this with you.”


	31. 31

“So are you going to Miami with Gabe for spring break?” Dean asked, spring break was so close, only three weeks away, and he was beginning to get antsy for a break. 

Castiel rolled his eyes and scoffed. 

“What?” Dean asked.

“And spend the week watching Gabriel get alcohol poisoning and have sex? Sounds like what we do every weekend,” he said sarcastically with a snort.

“But we’d be tan doing it,” he paused, knowing he definitely hadn’t convinced his partner, “We don’t need to do that, there has to be other stuff to do. If nothing else we can at least go to the beach,” Dean stuffed one of his hands into his jacket pocket when a cool breeze hit. Castiel shrugged and Dean replied, “Come on, we could lay by the pool all day. I’ll rub sun-tan lotion on your hard to reach spots,” he winked, making Castiel blush and playfully shove Dean.

“I dunno,” he squinted his eyes as he looked up at the arts building, signaling the end to his and Dean’s walk. 

“It will be fun. Just think about it, okay?” Dean said as he trotted up the steps with a wave.

After Dean disappeared Cas took a deep breath and fidgeted where he was standing, his mind telling his legs to move but not quite finding the strength to do so. Castiel looked down at his watch, he had approximately 8 minutes to make it back to central campus’ health center in time for his appointment. He stood his ground for another few minutes until he sighed and turned around, facing the path back the way he and Dean just came, and before he knew it he was standing in the lobby of the health center.

"Sweetie, can I help you?" Castiel blinked, his mind feeling frozen for a moment before registering that the woman behind the counter was talking to him. 

"Sorry, uh," Castiel stammered nervously and rubbed the stubble forming on his chin, "I have an appointment."

"You been here before?"

He shook his head and a clipboard was placed in front of him, she instructed him to fill it out as best as he can. He just nodded numbly and made his way to the empty waiting area to complete the paperwork.

_Do you have trouble concentrating on things such as reading, doing homework or watching television?_

_Have you ever had thoughts of hurting yourself?_

_Do you have trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or sleep too much?_

He stared at the paperwork, knowing these questions were routine but still felt as if the woman at the desk already knew the answer. He felt himself shrink into the plastic chair, wondering what he got himself into coming here.

"Castiel?" His head snapped up and was greeted by an older woman in matching hot pink scrubs standing in front of a door slightly ajar. "You can come on back."

"I didn't finish," he trailed off, gesturing to the paperwork. He glanced down at the clipboard and realized suddenly the paperwork was the most interesting thing in the world, he had to finish filling it out before they could see him. And if he never finished it...

"That's okay, we can turn it in at the end," she waved him towards her with a small smile as if she knew he was terrified of following her through the door. He just stared at her as he slowly stood up from the chair and clutched the clipboard to his chest. "I'm Liz, I'll be your nurse. Now let's get your height and weight," she extended her hand and he hesitantly handed her the forms, earning another sweet smile.

He left the health center with an appointment card in hand for a week later with a doctor in downtown Lawrence. Liz also gave him a brochure about managing stress and a bright yellow smiley face stress ball. The ball was cheesy and he hated that he thought it was cute, so much so he decided throwing it in the trash can on his way out of the building, but decided it would probably be more useful to throw at Gabriel. He decided that would help his stress. 

The longer he looked at the appointment card the more he worried about the appointment. Liz said it was just off main street near the town hall, which Castiel knew was nowhere near campus. He would need to take the bus or get a ride downtown. He was also going to have to miss class. 

The day before his appointment with Dr. Inglewood Castiel blurted out, "I need a ride downtown tomorrow morning."

Dean looked up from his textbook, "Downtown? What for?" His face scrunched up slightly at the sudden favor.

"I have a doctor's appointment."

"Your doctor is in Lawrence? That's kind of far from home."

"It's a new doctor, I haven't seen her before. Besides, I'm here most of the year," he shrugged, trying to act casual about it.

"Yeah, sure, whatever you need Cas."

Castiel visibly exhaled and thanked Dean before placing a soft kiss to his cheek, admiring how red Dean was once he pulled away.

"Do you want me to come in?" Dean asked, his car idling at the curb.

"No, that's okay. Thank you, though," Castiel said nervously before Dean reached over to place his hand over his partners, giving it a gentle squeeze. Cas' lips pulled into a small smile and he exited the car. 

Through the open window Dean called out, "I'm going to Henderson's," he pointed to a diner a block down the street, "meet me there?"

"Sure."

Dean watched as Cas stuffed his hands into his trench coats pockets, disappearing into the small office building. He began to pull away from the curb, feeling the tugging sensation in his chest strengthen the longer he looked at the sign that read _'Dr. Inglewood, Psychiatry'_. He settled in at the diner, barely touching the cup of coffee and chocolate chip muffin he ordered as he thought about Cas at the psychiatrists office. When Castiel joined him just under an hour later Dean pushed the muffin towards him, and as Cas ate he shyly asked if they could stop at the local pharmacy. Dean gave him an empathetic smile and said, "Whatever you need, Cas."

*

Dean Winchester had never been on a plane and terrified was an understatement. John had driven the family anywhere they needed to go in his beloved Impala. At the airport after a brief panic attack, Gabriel bought three tequila shots each- in part to get his and Castiel’s vacation started, but also to calm Dean’s nerves. After Dean slammed back the shots and took one of the pills Castiel offered, he boarded the plane with glazed over eyes, and fell asleep on Gabriel’s shoulder the second they settled in.

Gabriel glared at Dean moments after they reached altitude, he was now drooling on Gabe’s Hawaiian shirt. Castiel watched the two out of the corner of his eye and his lips pulled up into a small smirk as Gabriel hushed, “He’s your boyfriend! He should be cuddling you!”

Rousing Dean to get off the plane proved much harder than expected, the three were the last ones off the plane after a flight attendant asked Gabriel if his friend was okay and a _lot_ of shaking. “Hey, what was that pill, Cas?” Dean asked, groggy and rubbing his eye with his palm.

“Don’t worry about it,” Castiel extended an arm to rub Dean’s back gently as they exited the plane, Gabriel following behind moments later after he retrieved his and Dean’s bags from the overhead compartment. 

“Welcome to Casa Novak- spring break edition!” Gabriel exclaimed with his arms wide open, the front door to Zachariah’s condo swinging open to reveal a pristine escape. “Now run along and pick a room,” Gabriel said as he carried his suitcase up the stairs, before adding, “whichever has the quietest bed!”

“How many rooms does this place have?” Dean asked, looking around and marveling at the size of this condo- he couldn’t believe there was a second floor; it had to be bigger than his home in Lawrence.

“Five bed, three bath,” Castiel said, uninterested and unimpressed. “Gabriel likes the master.”

“Of course he does,” Dean said.

Gabe yelled something unintelligible from upstairs, but Dean and Castiel ignored him. Castiel just said, “Bedroom furthest from Gabriel,” and Dean whole-heartedly agreed with him.

“Did you hear me?” Gabriel asked, appearing in the doorway of the room Dean and Castiel chose. “Nevermind,” he quickly added.

“What?” 

“Uh, nothing. Margarita time!” He shouted before disappearing.

“Is it just me or is he acting weird?” Dean asked, pointing a thumb towards the door.

“Yes, he is,” Castiel’s eyes squinted, already suspicious of his brother so soon into the trip.

Soon the whir of the blender distracted Dean and Castiel from their concerns, now more ready for poolside drinks. And Dean desperately in need of another nap despite sleeping for the entire three hour flight.

A shout came from inside, “Where are all the chicks? Man, it’s a sausage fest in here!” 

“Who is that?” Dean asked, trying to look over his lounge chair to see inside the condo.

The slurp from Gabriel’s straw came to a sudden halt. 

“You didn’t!” Castiel stared at his brother, lifting his sunglasses off his eyes.

“Oh yeah, uh, I forgot to mention-” Gabriel started before Michael appeared on the patio.

“What’s up, Dean?” Michael bent down to smack Dean on his reddened shoulder, Dean winced but enthusiastically greeted the older Novak. “Look who finally came along!” He exclaimed at the sight of his youngest brother.

Castiel scowled as Michael demanded a margarita, then followed Gabriel into the kitchen, complaining on the way inside about the _“lack of chicks”_. 

“I asked if Michael was coming, and he told me he wasn’t,” Castiel said, staring angrily at his empty glass after draining it. 

“He’ll probably be out at clubs or somethin’ the whole time,” Dean shrugged as he uncapped the sunscreen and passed it to Castiel whose forehead was tinted pink. “Hey, we’re going to have a kickass time, relax, babe,” Dean said, not bothering to hush his voice, Michael couldn’t hear him over the blender. 

Castiel nodded, accepting the sunscreen from Dean and applying it to his face. 

“Sorry, baby bro, but I had to, if you knew he was coming you wouldn’t have,” Gabriel said when he reappeared with the pitcher of fresh drinks.

“Well it’s too late now,” Castiel said with an attitude as he placed his sunglasses over his eyes and turned his head to the side, preparing to take a nap to drown out Michael’s obnoxious bragging about his internship. 

A wave of cold water jolted Castiel awake, Dean's arms folded on the edge of the pool and a sweet smile on his lips. “Fuck you,” Castiel glared, using the towel under his head to soak up the water. 

“Is that a promise?” Dean asked with a smirk before Castiel jumped from his chair, joining Dean in the pool. Dean shook water from his hair before wading over to Castiel and jumping on him. The two went under the water with a splash, when they surfaced Castiel sputtered and wiped water from his face. 

“What the hell?” Castiel asked, Dean’s arms wrapping around his waist. 

“What?” Dean asked, blinked his bright green eyes with his lips pouted ever so slightly. Castiel’s arms found their way around Dean’s shoulders with hesitation. Dean, with his superb ability to sense Castiel’s mood, said, “Your brothers went to get food.”

Castiel grabbed Dean by the back of his head and slammed his lips against Dean’s, bitter and stinging with chlorine. Dean eagerly pressed his lips against the shorter mans with an urgency that he hadn’t felt since him and Castiel first started sneaking around, the possibility of getting caught excited Dean more than he cared to admit. Dean’s hands wandered south and found themselves wrapped around the back of Cas’ thighs, easily lifting him in the water. Hands running through Deans wet hair began scraping at his scalp, causing an involuntary moan to escape his lips. 

“Dean-” Castiel said, pulling away. 

“Mhm?” Dean hummed, his lips now pressed against Castiel’s chin.

“As much as I want to do this,” Castiel whined, “Not here.”

Dean pulled away and let Castiel go, Cas slowly dragged his hand down Dean’s arm into the water. “Want to take this to-”

“Anyone order tacos?” Came a shout from inside.

“Later,” Cas winked before wading to the stairs, eager to get food in his stomach.

Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on who you ask) almost every club in Miami changed their policy to 18+ for the couple weeks that spring break fell on. Most college students were under 21, and these clubs knew there was a massive market for 18-20 year olds dying to let loose. Dean still had the fake ID Ash made him, but since Castiel didn’t have one, the four had to go to an 18+ club. Michael and Gabe said he was lucky for this, but Castiel just rolled his eyes and allowed himself to be dragged out- or eagerly followed Dean out the door after a few shots. 

Dean gently squeezed Castiel’s hand as they weaved their way through the crowded club towards the bar. Cas eyed the large brightly colored souvenir glasses that many people held in their hands, he wondered what was in them, he was sure he it was sweet and delicious and very strong. In a blink of an eye Michael, Gabriel and Dean each had a different colored cup in their hands. Cas laughed; maybe because of the tequila shots he had before they left the condo; when he saw Dean sip a green straw sticking out of a pink flamingo cup. 

“How is it?” Cas leaned close to Dean’s ear, dying to know what it was in those cups.

“Delicious, here,” Dean extended the cup and Cas took a quick sip before anyone noticed he didn’t have a 21+ wristband on. 

“Very,” he said, his lips smacking at the slight sour of citrus, but overall enjoying the sweet, fruity taste.

Gabriel had disappeared, and Michael was chatting with a blonde perched on a bar stool. “Want to dance?” Dean asked, taking a large gulp of his whatever it was. 

“I thought you weren't the dancing type,” Castiel laughed as Dean grabbed him by the arm and dragged him towards the dance floor. 

“I’m not,” Dean hollered, leaning back so Cas would hear him more clear. "Except special occasions," he said with a wink.

He took another long sip from his straw and nodded his head towards Gabriel, rubbing up against the back of a petite woman. Castiel shook his head, not even remotely interested in his brother when Dean was swaying beside him, green eyes glimmering from the neon club lights. Dean’s lips remained touching the straw, but not enough that he could be sipping from it. His hand wandered to Cas’ lower back, attempting to get the younger boy dancing with him. 

“My brother’s here,” Castiel leaned his face in so close his lips practically touched Dean’s ear, he needed Dean to hear him while he shifted his body in the other direction.

“He’s not paying attention to us,” Dean said, not quite loud enough for Cas to hear, but he could read his lips enough to get the jist of what he said. The hand that had wandered to Castiel’s back rested there lazily while Dean allowed his body to sway along to Livin’ la Vida Loca, and Castiel relaxed a bit when he came to the realization his brother was not going to bother them anytime soon. Michael’s attention was still on the girl at the bar, she was laughing animatedly at something he said. He appeared hypnotized by her, unable to pull his eyes away from her white cropped tank top, a brightly colored bikini top almost completely visible underneath.

He wrapped an arm around Dean’s shoulders while they danced, pulling him closer ever so slightly, his eyes keeping watch over Michael. Dean grinned at the feeling of Cas’s arm around him and closed his eyes, letting his body take over. "You tell anyone I danced to Ricky Martin, I'll kill you," Dean warned, making Castiel laugh loudly and pull him closer.

“C’mon, let’s get you to bed,” Castiel said, Dean’s arm slung around his neck, holding him up as they walked down the sidewalk.

“Cas you the bes’,” Dean slurred, pressing his mouth to Cas’ ear, making Castiel grimace at the saliva now all over his ear lobe. “Man these are good,” he somehow still managed to have his plastic souvenir cup gripped tightly in his hand, and waved it in the air, droplets of sticky liquor flinging all over the ground, himself and Cas. Cas flinched and licked a drop off his mouth. “Are we almost there?”

“We’ll be there soon,” Cas said.

“Is your friend okay?” The girl Gabriel’s arm was slung around asked, glancing at Dean and Castiel.

“How many of those did he have?” Gabe asked, turning around to face his younger brother and roommate.

“Three,” Castiel said, grunting, trying to shift Dean’s weight. “I think they were mostly alcohol.”

“They are,” the girl said without turning around. Quieter she said to Gabriel, “Your brother and his boyfriend are sweet.”

Michael laughed at her comment, one hand planted firmly on the blonde from the bar’s ass. Gabriel turned around to face Dean and Cas with a grin, "Aren't they?"

**Author's Note:**

> The next few chapters will be a lot more fun and exciting, Spring break is coming up! Will Dean finally hop on a plane and join Gabriel in Miami for another one of his wild trips?


End file.
